The Rising Sun
by Hibiscus79
Summary: A story about how the most famous vampire coven came to power.
1. Children of the Desert

**Twilight and its all characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**I want to thank my beta, i-kno-you-want-me, for doing a wonderful job.**

**Please, tell me what you think. **

The Rising Sun

1. Children of the Desert

The dawn is breaking upon the country of Kemet. The sun is rising; God Ra claiming the Earth once again, from the hands of the owner of the Moon – Thoth. Its first rays still gentle and slightly warm, yet already carrying the promise of heat during the day and a thread for any creature left on the desert by noon.

But no one fears the sun in Nebit. The little temple lies just upon the shore of the life-giving Nile, its coasts always green and full of life. From the eastern shore, a narrow canal supplies the temple with fresh water. It took more than one summer and fifty men to build it. The workers were not slaves, even though none of them were paid; if you asked those who survived, they would probably just smile, tell you that the high priest offered them a chance to work for the God, smile again, bow, and leave. Some of them were left to work for the temple even after the canal was finished and create a small pond and a little island with a beautiful sandy beach in the middle of it. Flowers brought from all known countries were planted on the island and its other coast was left covered with fresh, green grass.

The island was never meant to be inhabited with humans. Not for long, anyway. In the central part of the island, a god is lying. His eyes closed, his head resting on the grass, he enjoys the feeling of first rays of sun on his thick skin. He still feels a little bit sleepy and weak because of the former night's coldness and the fact that he still has not been given any food. Others of his kind can go for days without feeding, but he slowly gets angry. After all, gods are not suppose to starve. And Sebek, a four meter long living incarnation of a crocodile god yawns and dives into the water. He is not content with the fact that humans are too busy to remember their duties.

Inside the temple, the servants of the great priest Nebi seem to disappear, to become invisible, to change into furniture and stay unnoticed. The third wife of the priest is giving birth to their first child. Rumor says, it is also going to be her last one. She is fragile, tiny and still closer to being a girl than a fully grown up woman; she may not be able to make it. Few workers can still remember what happened, when the priests first and second wife died. People are going to be blamed and God Sebek is going to enjoy his enlarged breakfast. Another rumor says Sebek loves the taste of children. A few young girls, who would normally help in the kitchen, were already sent home; their parents can only hope the master is to distracted to notice.

The whole temple is completely quiet, too quiet, so quiet to the point it gets almost impossible to believe a woman gives birth in this place. It wasn't like this during the night, hours earlier; when the lady hired to help the young mistress Hebony with her first child was brought to the house. Everyone seemed to believe a miracle will happen and both the mother and the baby will survive it unharmed. The midwife had large, red hands, a face that shown signs of smallpox she probably went through in her childhood, a deep, husky voice and a warm, beautiful smile. She even brought a wooden toy lion for Kamilah, the youngest child of the priests former wife and asked that Net and Lotus, his two elder daughters, see the childbirth. She also asked that one servant girl stay with them in the room. Some time later, when the night was getting deeper, the midwife asked Net and Lotus to leave. She was still smiling and trying to look at ease, she explained to the girls they were tired and would have plenty of chances to see a childbirth when they got a little bit older. However, her eyes looked frightened when she said it.

After the dawn she walks out of the room for a second time to ask for some water. She looks tired and afraid, and everybody notices how eager she is to leave the chamber even for a little while. Her hands are still red, though this time with blood. A few seconds later she is back in the room, called by the servant girl she left with the mother–to-be.

"Hush. It will be over soon," she says.

There is absolutely no answer, only stillness; the walls seem to have ears in the temple. Two other girls from the kitchen are sent home immediately.

Not far from the temple, on a dune, the priest is watching sunrise accompanied by his grown-up son. The father is in his fifties; the burning sun was merciless with his face, burning wrinkles and brown spots on all of it, but his body is still strong and straight. His head is shaved bald and he wears leopard skin on his shoulder as a symbol of his status.

The son is in his early thirties, slender, with natural shoulder-lenght jet-black hair, a rarity in the country where people shave their heads and wear wigs. Unlike his father and his whole court, this young man seems to be undisturbed by the events in the temple.

"Who do you think it will be? A fourth girl? Or do you still hope for another son?" the younger one asks with a light, almost feathery voice.

"I will happily welcome any child, boy or girl, as long as its mother lives. I begin to think someone has cursed me and any women pregnant with my children. I still mourn after your mother, Aro. The woman who carried Net, Lotus and Kamilah was also very close to my heart. Of cource I wish for another son. The temple is getting bigger every year. You could use some help in the future".

"You are right, Father," the younger one says with a smile. Once again, his father wishes he could be able to read his son like he can other people. The high priest is famous for his intuition. He can guess people motives, their wishes and plans even before they become aware of those thoughts themselves. His only son is the only exception; every time he seems close to knowing what Aro is thinking about, the trail of thoughts changes, all former ideas suddenly completely deserted. Nebi often wonders, if his child didn't inherit a stronger version of his gift, an intuition that would allowed him to see through others even more clearly, almost like he was reading peoples minds. There is something disturbing about it, and not for the first time Nebi feels anxious so close to his own heir.

"See if it is coming to an end."

"As you wish, Father"

A demand and an order, and yet he feels he just lost another battle with his son.

Aro walks like a ghost through the deserted temple. He smiles at the sight of some of his fathers helpers but never approaches them, heading straight to the little garden close to the main chamber. And that is where he waits.

"May I speak to you, Master?" The midwife's voice is weak now and Aro is surprised to see how she was able to change from a confident, strong woman to this little self-conscious wreck with just one night. _The fear of death_. He smiles to himself. People claiming to be courageous, believing they would face the end with their head high, yet begging for mercy the second they heard the verdict. Why did she even take this job? She knew what would surely happen if anything went wrong! Brave and pathetic at the same time. He marvels for a second.

"Of course, my dear." He almost takes her blood-covered hand, smiles apologetically and finally places his palm upon her bare shoulder instead. There is a moment of dizziness and than he can almost see through her - all her thoughts revealed to him for a second. She is proud. She wanted to prove herself. She wondered how much she could possibly earn. She was sure it was going to be easy. She was so surprised the lady carried twins… Twins? The trail of thoughts is lost. So another mystery is solved. No starving children waiting for her. It was only her pride and greed. Pathetic.

"You can tell me everything," he finishes, already losing his interest. She flinches, surprised, before she begins her explanation.

"There is another child, Master," she says "The Lady is carrying twins. I had not noticed it before, but one of them is smaller than the other. Possibly a stillborn. The other child is blocked by it and I can't take it out. I… Master, I even tried to cut the stillborn while it is still inside" she searches for approval in Aro's eyes but finds none "It's been a whole night and I'm afraid the Mistress hasn't got much time left. She is too tired. I need to speak to the High Priest. He has to make a decision.

"What kind of decision?"

"I… I might be able to remove the stillborn, but I will probably kill the other child while doing it. There is a chance the mother will survive it, but I cannot give my word for it. Or... I may cut her stomach and take both babys out. I've seen it done once. However, there will be no way to save the priests wife after the procedure. That is why I need him to decide.

"I see. And the living child? Did you see it?

"No Master. I could only feel it; it is alive and strong. Lady Hebony said the wheat grew. She suspects it's a girl. Could you please tell you father that…"

"Hush, dear. We wouldn't want to disturb the high priest, would we?" he smiles, another smile that never reaches his eyes. "And there is no need to do so. My father and I just talked about it before I came here. Save the child."

She bows and returns to the room. Aro leaves the garden just as quickly. He has seen enough in her mind; he doesn't want to be able to hear when the surgery will be performed. But the midwife is not going to waste time. A moment before he is out of the temple he hears the piercing scream of the dying mother.

He follows the path leading to the dunes very slowly, wishing to have any information to tell his father and, at the same time not willing to see or even listens to the bloodbath in the master chamber. He is already half way up his climb, when he hears someone is following him. So, Nebi's personal helper is brave enough to break the news to him? Aro would normally find an excuse to be able to touch the man and see his thoughts, but he has already seen enough for one day.

"Well. What is it?" he just asks impatiently.

"The Mistress… She just gave birth to a baby girl. The child will be all right. Unfortunately, Lady Hebony… She didn't survive the surgery...

"Such a tragedy." Aro's face shows nothing but sadness and grief. "You need to tell my father immediately. He will be devastated. His third wife... But I am holding you up" . The old servant is far from being happy when he climbs up the dune by himself, but he is too loyal to ignore a direct order. Aro decides to wait where he is standing. It is already getting hot, but he doesn't feel ready to face his father or go back to the temple.

"Where is the midwife?" the priest sounds at ease, but his son knows better. He can also see some blood spots on the leopard skin. What a shame. He actually liked the old helper. It will be difficult to dispose a body on the dunes. Other servants won't touch it; it is far from the pond and cannot stay where it is. It would attract wild animals; they don't need any other predators so close to the temple. Sebek is enough.

" I believe she is still with the baby girl, father. Do you wish to talk to her?"

"No, Aro. I do not want to see this woman ever again. Take care of it. Was Sebek fed this morning?"

"Not yet. I believe everyone waited to see how the delivery would end. Do you want to punish someone apart from the accoucheuse?

The priests eyes move from his son's face to the bloody marks on his cloth and later up the hill and Aro can only imagine the mess he will find there.

" There is no need to. Hurry up. We should not let the God starve. I believe we have enough problems. There is no need to add an angry Sebek."

The young man has to admit the midwife is brave at the end. She doesn't struggle or fight back when she is taken down the steep stairs and left on the shore. She only panics when she sees the crocodile eyes disappear into the deep water. Seconds after that the animal runs out of it. It surprises her; she probably never expected such a large water creature could move so gracefully on land. He reaches her in seconds. Sebek is not a merciful god., but he is hungry and quick.

It is a busy day. The body of the old servant is tossed into Sebek's little pond. The placenta is thrown into the Nile to unsure the child will stay alive. Just after noon one of the girls from the kitchen decides it is already safe to come back. Her older sister, who gave birth to a child only a month ago is immediately hired as a wet-nurse and brought to the temple. Net and Lotus visit their youngest sister, absolutely delighted to have such a real, breathing, living doll. Kamilah is less thrilled, but she generously gives her new toy lion to the infant. Her little sister, however, isn't ready to play with it and Kamilah gets bored and leaves. Her older sisters follow soon after, tired of having to be quiet and simply watching the child sleep. The priest begins arranging his wives mummification and burial. It is a huge oversight, but the child is not given a name until the early evening.

The heat slowly fades and the red, evening boat of Ra slowly disappears behind the desert. The life in the temple slowly gets to normal, with young servants appearing from nowhere and pretending they spent their whole day inside it. The baby girl is fed and falls asleep again. Her older sisters follow her soon. It was a really long day and they haven't slept much that night. Net cries herself to sleep, sad to lose her best friend and at the same time happy because the wet-nurse let her hold the baby. She is nine years old, only three years younger than her fathers late wife.

Aro finds Nebi on the dune. It has been only twelve hours since their last conversation here, but the priest looks years older now. His eyes are fixed on something far away in the darkness and for a second his son wonders if he could somehow initiate skin contact between them. The scent of servants blood in this place brings him back to reality. His father doesn't know yet, but he already suspects how powerful Aro's little talent has become. The high priest was never a full. He would never believe his son would offer comfort, hug him or even take his hand without having his own reasons. Instead, Aro follows his father gaze. It is a cold, windy night and the sand from the desert flies with the wind, dancing its own, unrhytmic dance. It moves rapidly in their direction, falls gently to the ground, creates little sand twisters to lose its power again. Some grains float with the wind and hit the two man still standing on the dune, but the show is already over. The priest blinks and removes sand from his eye.

"It is a shame she died." There is no good way to start this conversation, but Aro is unable to stay silent any longer.

"Yes" is Nebi's only answer. And for a very short moment his son wishes he had made a different decision this morning and tried to safe Hebony. The woman was sweet, silly and had too much influence on her husband, but she was also too young and unexperienced to be any thread for him. And for some unknown reasons, his father loved her dearly.

"You should name your daughter" Probably another poor excuse to force Nebi to speak his mind, but since the priest wouldn't allow any contact in this moment he cannot think of anything better.

"There were two children. I will call her Kakra than..." Aro flinches at the sound of the old name usually given to one of the twins. "And you don't like it". Interesting. The priests talent is probably much more subtle, but Aro wonders if his father is limited by skin contact the way he is. Or maybe he can't really read peoples mind, but he can sense emotions?

"I asked what is wrong with name Kakra, Aro?" Probably nothing, but he needs a good explanation of his behavior now.

"It is old-fashioned. And too rare. You could give her a Greek name, like people from the cities do." A very poor explanation, he has to admit it, but he had no time to come up with a better one.

"And how do _people from the cities"_ call their twin children?

"It is usually Didymos for the boy and Didyme for a girl"

"Very well. Her name is Didyme than" The priest's eyes wander back to the desert and Aro knows their conversation is over.

Days pass and change into months. Soon Didyme becomes a little sun in the dark temple. She is an easy child, never cries for long, soon learns to sleep whole nights through and unlike other infants, she enjoys other people, even strangers, close to her. It makes her very popular with Net and Lotus, who are taught how to take care of a baby. Kamilah is a little bitter seeing her little sister winning everybody's attention, but even she can't stay angry for long. Soon she is absolutely in love with her younger sibling and glad she will have someone to play with in the near future.

Nebi loves his daughter. It surprises him. He suspected he will always blame her for her mother death and he has never thought he would be so involved in raising a girl, but somehow she manages to wrap the high priest around her little finger. Didyme does resemble Hebony, but strangely it doesn't bring him any sad memories. Her complexion is dark, darker then his other children's, but where her mothers skin was brown, the girl has a beautiful, easy tanning olive skin. She also inherited strong and straight hair from her fathers line. She watches him with her always curious, rich brown eyes. Soon the learns how to giggle, and the cascades of pearly laughter fill the girls room days after. Nebi has to admit that his late wife somehow lives in this girl.

Didyme cares for her dad too, but her real father figure is Aro. It surprises many, because he was never close to anybody in this place, but he is younger and less busy than the priest. After the girl learns to walk, she follows her older brother everywhere, always carrying a small stone tiger he gave her exactly one year after the day she was born. When the young man is busy with his grown-ups stuff, she just sits in the corner and silently plays with her favorite toy. At first he is slightly irritated with his little copycat, but soon he finds it almost impossible to be angry with her.

Peret, the first month of winter brings cold wind from the North once again and little Didyme turns three. She is a lovely young girl now, sweet and absolutely spoiled by her whole family. She likes bright colors too much to accept the regular white linen cloths everybody wears, so her brother makes sure hers are dyed red, yellow or blue. To her fathers horror, she follows Aro's advice and refuses to shave her head. Immediately, her sisters supply her with a mixture of oil and boiled blood of a black cat to enhance her hairs natural jet black color and make it stronger. They are even willing to spend hours brushing it to make sure no insects would be able to survive. However, Didyme is never ungrateful and with the way she smiles and makes people feel good around her, no one seems to be unhappy about it.

"Can I feed him today? Please, please, please, please, please?" her eyes are shining bright and her voice could probably melt rocks when she dances around her older brother. "Father said Sebek will be given a whole cow! Can you imagine he can eat one? And then he won't have to eat for days. That's what Father said, but that's silly. Why would someone swallow a whole bull at once and they fast for days? Don't you think he will be hungry? Aro? Listen to me! " she looks at him slightly annoyed.

"Yes, we can watch him being fed, yes, he would probably be able to consume a whole cow for one meal, and no, he won't be hungry. Please play with your tiger for a while, or the temple will be out of wheat." He throws an apologetic look at the merchant, but this old man from the country of Kush doesn't seem to mind. He is absolutely enchanted with the little girl.

"She's your daughter?"

"Younger sister. Now, please…"

"Do you like honey cookies, little one?"

"Yes," she answers "Do you have some?

"Didyme!" her brothers voice makes her hesitate for a moment and she is just about to start apologizing for being rude when a cookie miraculously appears in the merchants hand.

"How did you do it?" she murmurs, with her mouth already full.

"Nubian magic"

"Can we discuss our payment, please?" It is not in Aro's nature to be impatient, but he is slightly tired with how people behave in Didyme's presence. He had hoped his sister would soften this old man, not that she would steal his attention and make any negotiations impossible. Well, the merchant is soft, as soft as possible right now and absolutely unable to discuss their deal. Instead, he is grinning at the tiny three-years-old.

"Yes, of course, but your sister is surely thirsty now?"

The young man can only hope his sister will politely say no, but Didyme nods with the sweetest smile on her face.

"Bring us some beer " he orders. It is getting unlikely they will finish this transaction during one afternoon, he figures out. Maybe he could arrange for this man to come early tomorrow morning. Didyme usually sleeps till late; it might be possible to discuss things without her.

Their drink is served and for a moment he thinks it will be enough to keep her silent.

"Something is swimming in mine…"

"Probably dates. Here; take a straw, little one. Do you want to know how to make beer?

"Yes!"

"Once upon a time God Osiris taught humans how to do it. It is brewed from barley, which is heated and mixed with yeast and uncooked malt before being fermented to produce beer.

Didyme is starring at the merchant with her eyes wide open and Aro sees his chance.

"The women are probably doing it in our kitchen right now, if you want to see it for yourself. You can also ask Father if the sacrifice for Sebek is ready."

" Yes. May I be excused?" She doesn't bother to wait for their answer. She just turns back and starts running. A few seconds later she is back for her toy tiger which she left on the floor. "You will join me when you finish, right? Aro? Please, please, please, please, please?'

"Certainly, sister. Wait for me in the kitchen and…" he starts, but she is already out of the room. He can still hear her feet hitting the floor and her laugh still fills the air, but the pleasant atmosphere she created is already gone."…And now" he smiles" Back to our payment…".

Didyme is a curious child. She is mesmerized when the cook lets her watch her work. She is also interested in the production of bread and soon she is peppering the woman with all possible questions. The servant is very polite with her, but some of her helpers are gone today and she is busy and tired. That's why she is glad when the girl loses her interest and leaves. She notices a disappearance of a few scraps of raw meat, too, soon after the priest's daughter's departure, but she blames a cat for taking them.

Didyme makes up her mind the second she sees the scraps in the kitchen. The cook is busy and she feels unwelcomed on her territory. Her older sisters are discussing Net's wedding, which will take place in few months. She cannot find her father, and Aro is still talking to the merchant. She still has her toy tiger though. She runs with him to the little garden inside the temple, finds a place in the shadow and sits there. The meat she is holding in her hand looks like some kind of a pulp now.

"You don't want it, do you? Because it looks disgusting!" she smiles, pushing one of the scraps into the tigers stone mouth. Of course, the toy is unable to answer her or swallow the piece of meat. Didyme puts the food aside and lays herself on the ground looking into little tigers eyes " Don't worry, I wont` force you to eat it. Lotus once made me eat too much bread and I threw it up. But you know what?' Her eyes are almost glowing now " We can give it to Sebek. He is going to eat a whole cow today; I'm sure he won't mind eating this…" she looks at the meat pulp on the ground, "…thing. Don't you think so?" Holding her favorite toy in her left hand, and the scraps in her right, she runs in the direction of Sebek's pond.

She moves like a ghost now. Her father does not like it when she is too close to the God, probably because the crocodile should not be disturbed, but she is absolutely positive Sebek won't mind. The stairs are slightly too steep and narrow for her and she has a really difficult time climbing down, but finally she manages to get to the little beach beneath them.

"Sebek?" she asks, unable to locate the god on his island. He must be in the water then. The pond is clear, but also deep and the animal is nowhere to be seen. For a second she ponders if walking into the water would be a good idea, but she cannot swim yet and the thought of losing the ground scares her. On the other hand, some instincts tell her to leave the food and run from this place as fast as she can, but she suppresses that fear. As a matter of fact, she cannot find a reason why what she is doing would be wrong. Father may not be happy if he sees her so close to the God, but she is by no means being disrespectful or noisy in his presence. She just hopes he will enjoy her little offering. Surely, there is nothing wrong with it. "Sebek!" she shouts again. There is still no answer, only a few bubbles of air hit the surface close to the island. The girl gets slightly bored, but she has no other thing to do. Didyme decides to sit down on the sand and wait for the crocodile.

Sebek can see the tiny human perfectly. She is young and still clumsy, a perfect prey. However, she is sitting very close to the first step. If she manages to climb the stairs, he would never be able to get to her. That is why he has to be silent and quick. Sebek is not only a god, but he is also one the world's best predators. He does not like being fed. He wants to hunt. He disappears in the water completely, swimming as close to the bottom as possible.

"Sebek? Sebek!" Aro is too busy talking to the merchant to be alarmed by his sister shouts.

"I guess they brought the famous cow now…" the Kush man smiles, still charmed by the sweet, little girl.

"No, the crocodile won't be fed until evening…" Aro knows something is wrong before he even finishes the sentence.

"I suppose there is no way your sister would be able to get to his pond?" The merchant asks on the edge of panic. The few minutes he has spent in her presence were enough to make him love her dearly, as if she was his own daughter. " The stairs are secured, aren't they?"

Didyme is tired of waiting. Despite the winter season it is a very hot day and there is no shadow on the beach. In general, she adores sitting near the water in the sun, but the pond is no Nile and there is no breeze. The meat scraps in her hand look awful now and they slowly start to stink. Not a good offering for a god anymore. She gives the pond one final look before she stands up and starts walking in the direction of the stairs.

The crocodile is in front of her in only a few seconds. For a moment she finds him funny, running so fast on his little legs. She is surprised, she assumed he would slowly walk out of the water, open his mouth and gently take the food she brought for him. Instead, he is moving in her direction, his jaws wide open, his eyes fixed on her and completely ignoring what she is holding in her right hand. The meat scraps fall to the ground, and Didyme freezes holding her little tiger close to her chest.

Aro catches her just before Sebek's teeth touch her skin. She starts to scream and tries to fight him off, too shocked to realize she is not in the animals jaws. The crocodile stops near the stairs. He can still be fast on land, but he just lost all his agility of a water creature. It takes time before he can maneuver his body to face the humans again.

Aro is surprised. One minute ago he was standing in perfectly safe and comfortable room discussing things that seemed to be important at that time. Now he is standing in front of large crocodile with no weapon and his little sister in his arms. Didyme stops fighting and hugs him with all her strength. The Kush man arrives, shouting at the young man to throw him the girl, but Aro is holding her tight. He loves his sister. He loves her enough to try to rescue her from the hungry animal, but he is not going to die for anyone. If there will be no other way… Sebek will need only a few seconds to kill Didyme, but it would be enough for him to get to the stairs and escape. He will probably have to take care of the merchant later, but it shouldn't be a problem. Sebek may not be hungry when he will be given that cow today, he thinks and almost starts to laugh hysterically.

A few stones hit the crocodile's head. It is not enough to harm him in any way, but it is a distraction. Aro just wishes the old man would be braver and climb down to offer some real help. However, Sebek's eyes aren't fixed on them anymore and he can slowly start moving. The stairs are still blocked, but he is able to get to the central point of the beach. He is facing the beast and the pond is just behind him now, but it still gives him a better chance of survival than standing in the corner. Didyme probably got tired of holding him, her strength is already gone and she is sobbing quietly in his arms. It will be very easy to throw her to Sebek, should he have to.

The animal starts running in their direction. It is still very fast, but the element of surprise is lost. Aro shifts to his right, carefully observing the crocodile's reaction. Its eyes are fixed on him, its jaws open and its whole body gently turns to face the man. Before it gets to close, Aro stops for a second and than abruptly changes direction. Sebek moves much slower now, his eyes still following the humans, but his body unable to turn so quickly. The young man runs through the whole beach and gets to the stairs long before the animal is able to attack again.

At the top of the stairs he gently gives his sister to the old man before sitting on the last step. Below them, the crocodile has lost all his interest when he noticed the humans where out of his reach. Sebek slowly dives in the water and disappears again. The whole temple is absolutely quiet and Aro realizes no one has seen the attack. It might be good that way; the servants should not see the priests son fighting with the god. Sometimes he wonders if those people really believe Sebek is a living incarnation of one of the gods. They see him every day; they see him feed, swim and attack like any other crocodile. He will have to find it out. Just then Didyme wakes up from shock and starts sobbing uncontrollably. He would probably feel for her, if she just didn't try to kill them both. He is just angry instead.

"What do you think you were doing?" he shouts, taking her from the arms of the other man and putting her to her feet. She falls to the ground immediately. It makes her silent; she just sits watching her brother with her eyes wide open.

" I was going to feed Sebek," she answers after a while. Her voice is dreamy, like she still hasn't completely recovered from her previous state. She notices her brother is starring at her. "I had some meat. From the kitchen." she explains.

"Why didn't you wait for me? Or anyone else for the matter?" he pulls her to her feet again. This time she manages to stand up. She is breathing hard to hide the sobs. His hands are still on her arms and suddenly he gets a flash of her thoughts. He can see the beach through her eyes, the crocodile; he can feel her panic and how the numbness took over her body; he can sense her fear when he caught her, her expectation of a giant pain and her desperate urge to fight, the shame she felt when she realized she was fighting with her own brother. Then there is only her absolute trust that he will save them both, the contentment because she is not longer afraid in his arms and her love for him. The flashback ends and he cannot see anything else, just her eyes still wide open, gazing upon him with fear. He gently takes her back into his arms.

"Didyme, I just want you to promise you will never do that again. You saw how dangerous Sebek can be. I don't want you anywhere near his pond, all right?" he asks her gently.

"Mhm…" she starts with a sad smile " I won't go there anymore, Aro. I promise"

"Are you hurt?" he knows exactly she isn't but for the sake of the merchant he has to ask her verbally.

Her smile gets wider; she knows she is already forgiven "Ugh-uh" she murmurs, shaking her head "I am all right, brother. Thank you. Will you tell Father?" she asks.

"I do not think there is any need to trouble the priest. At last, nobody was harmed and I doubt anyone has seen what happened," he answers, smiling.

Her mood immediately changes into a happy one. He can almost feel her contentment. "All right then, but Aro?

"Yes Didyme?"

"We will still go watch Sebek eat the cow in the evening, right?"

Nets wedding is far from being a simple, graceful ceremony that her father wanted her to have. She is wearing her longest, half-transparent linen dress, a black wig with natural, curly hair and probably all the jewelry she could find in the temple. She also wears a very strong green, malachite eye make up. It makes her look years older than she really is. The groom called Mshai is a future painter and an undiscovered poet, whose biggest dream is to discover the source of the great river. It doesn't hurt his cause that he is also the son of the priest of Thoth, which makes it a little bit easier for Nebi to accept his daughters choice. He cares for her to much to force her into marrying somebody she doesn't love. However, he still hopes the boy will grow up and follow his family's tradition.

The contract to establish the rights of both parties to maintenance and possession is signed and Didyme is devastated when she is told that she is too young to be a witness of it. After that, the young couple is free to spend the time with their siblings and friends, while Nebi and the boy's parents discuss the division of the goods in case Net and her husband decided to divorce as quickly as they decided to get married.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to travel that far? If you go south from the country of Kush, you will not even be able to send us messages. Should anything go wrong, you will be completely on your own" Aro gives the young groom a stern look. "I have heard there is only desert out there."

"There are rumors about a large lake and a jungle. It is also said there are mountains somewhere on the way. And I already thought how we can let you know we are alive and well. We will be able to contact you easily till we leave Kush. After that, we may use baskets to send you messages up the river, if there are no strong currents or waterfalls. If there are, we can use kites." Mshai smiles confidently.

"We will be fine, Aro" Net is as eager to go as her newlywed husband.

"Will you see lions?" Didyme asks with her mouth full of grapes.

"We surely hope no to" the future traveler smiles at her.

"Actually, my youngest sister asked you a very good question. You will be walking through the desert where the Nile is the only source of water. You have to be ready to face all kind of predators coming to drink."

"Aro, please. We know what we are doing. We're not going to get killed. We will take twelve men with us. We can always go back, should things go wrong. Stop talking, eat and don't ruin my wedding," Net finishes their discussion with a really angry look.

The celebration ends at dusk. It is time for Net to take all her possession and say goodbye to her family. Most of her things were already taken to her new home during the day, so she just visits the room she shared with Lotus to see if something wasn't left there. All of her clothes, cosmetics and jewelry are already gone. Some of her toys are still lying on the floor ,but she already decided to leave them for her sisters. She doubts she would ever want to play with them again herself and the medical examination she took months ago made it clear, that there is no need for her to collect toys for the future. It made her upset at that time, but now she is actually glad. She may not have married a future priest, but Mshai is exactly what she wanted and the life of a traveler is something she cannot wait for. She leaves her old room happy.

"Goodbye sister" her brother kisses her cheek.

"Goodbye. Please make sure Didyme and Kamilah won't kill each other to move to my former room," she smiles.

"I will try to, but you know the girls." His mood somehow changes "Are you sure you don't want to stay a little bit longer in the Thoth temple? Or even here? No one is forcing you to go south this month."

"I know ,but I already made up my mind. I want to go with Mshai. By the way, Aro, I believe his father would like to have a copy of our marriage contract as well. Could you make one and send it tomorrow?"

"Of course. I will bring it to you myself. I want to see where you live, and, of course, I want to see the preparations for your journey."

"Well, we will be waiting tomorrow than" They reach the other priest's family at that moment. Aro lets go of her hand and their farewell turns more formal at that point. A few minutes later, Net leaves the temple to start a new life.

Aro starts working on the copy in the first rays of sun. The contact is short and very soon his work is done. It is an early morning in the temple; his sisters still asleep and his fathers helpers busy cleaning after the celebration. After his talk with Net yesterday, he decides to go to the temple of Thoth alone. It is not far, a less than one hour walk probably. The sun is shining, there are no animals other than birds near the river and he realizes his sister's journey may not be as suicidal as he think it will be. He never even notices the two creatures moving behind him with abnormal speed and grace.

It takes days till his disappearance is noticed in the temple. People first assume he decided to spend some time in Net's new house and watch her preparation for the journey. However, after one of the servants from the temple of Thoth comes to get the wedding contract it is clear that he never got there. Nebi's people are send to look for him, but they find nothing. His family still hopes he may be in one of the towns not too far away, but after a month they give up the search. The desert and the river take many lives every year and people assume he is one of their victims.


	2. Explanations

**All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**I want to thank my wonderful beta, i-kno-you-want-me, for helping me with this story**

2. Explanations

A young vampire dives under a three meter wave. It is quieter below the surface, but he is still able to hear the sound of the storm upon him. The current tries to fight with him, but it is no match for a supernatural creature. However, it could slow him down a little bit and there is no time to waste. He dives deeper and swims closer to the bottom now. He is in hurry and doesn't want to waste his time playing with the elements.

He reaches the Nile's delta a few hours later. He could move faster on the land, but he doesn't need to hunt and sees no point in attracting unwanted attention . He swims just under the surface now. A few ibises decide to fly away immediately, too afraid to stay close to this underwater cheetah. It surprises the fishermen on their boats, but the sun blinds them and they cannot see the human shaped creature moving in the water with abnormal speed. Aro' s return to his fatherland happens just like his disappearance - unnoticed.

He arrives in Nebit only a few hours later. For a second he ponders if he could use the old water supply canal to enter the pond of Sebek. Aro smiles, wondering if the animal can still remember their fight twelve years ago. He is a thousand times faster and stronger now. Not to mention he is inedible. The crocodile would probably be very surprised if it came to a rematch, but he didn't come here to go back to his old live. He is just looking for his sisters.

His human memories are dim, but he can still remember the four girls. Net and Lotus are nowhere to be found. He wishes he knew their scents; it would make his search much easier now, when his sense of smell is much more powerful. Nebi's chamber is where it was, which means the priest is still alive. For a second Aro wonders if he could change him, but decides against it. His father is probably too old to survive the three-day-long change. Even if he did, his gift might be too similar to his own. No, his father could easily become Aro's strongest opponent. He will die human.

He finds Kamilah and her new family in one of the other rooms. She doesn't even resemble the little girl she once was. She is a mother of two, expecting her third child. He notices the leopard skin in the room and an absolutely alien male scent that clings to it. Whoever her husband is, Nebi must be preparing him to become the new priest. For a second Aro feels jealous, but he fights off that feeling. He is dead after all and his father needs an heir. He watches his sister through a little hole in the roof and decided to leave her a human, too. He cannot change her while she is pregnant, and she won't give birth for probably one more month. He does not want to stay in Kemet for such a long time. Besides, she probably wouldn't want to leave the infant and her two other children behind her. He has already seen too many babies changed into immortals to not want one close to him. He also doubts Kamilah would turn out gifted. She is a good mother, but that's not what he is looking for. She would probably be one of the miserable female vampires who miss motherhood all their eternal lives. It's better to leave her human, too.

His youngest sister is a whole different cause. Actually, she is the reason he traveled back south. He can still remember how people were drawn to Didyme and always yearned for her presence. He always suspected there might be something special about her. Once he discovered that a human talent usually converted into a immortals much stronger gift, he decided she may be useful for him in the future. What could she possibly do as an immortal? Force people to do follow her wishes? She surely did this even as a child. Make people fall in love with her? He could use it as well…

He fails to find the girl in the temple, and it worries him. He had started thinking about going back to his old country only few months ago. It might be too late. She could be dead or married and gone from temple, with a child and not willing leave her new family… She should be fifteen by now. It is spring, which makes her fifteen and three moths old, if she is alive. He jumps from the roof to the inside garden and then to the Net's former room.

Didyme is not there, but he will always recognize the little stone tiger he gave her all those years ago. It lies on a pile of multi-colored clothes and some other toys. There is also a half written papyrus scroll. His sister can write, then. Good. However, it is obvious to him that the writing was just an excuse to be allowed to take an expensive writing surface. Didyme's drawings cover the other half of the material. He can see pictures of many musical instruments: three of them, a harp, a flute and a lute, are also in her room. She probably loves music. There is also a picture of Sebek, and another of Sebek as a man with a crocodile head chasing a young girl. He can only smile at the memory. He finds some other drawings: his father in his leopard skin, a pair of travelers in the jungle, probably Net and Mshai, some pictures of Lotus wearing different clothes, one of Lotus on the mummification table, one of heavily pregnant Kamilah, and one of a man who looks like Aro in his human life. He smiles.

Her scent is all over room, and he has no problems tracking her from that point. He leaves the temple and starts climbing up the first dune. He finds her in one of his father's favorites places - the hill where she can see the river, the temple, and the desert. She is sitting on the sand, facing the sun with her eyes closed. Her skin is much darker than it was when he left her years ago, and he suspects she spends a lot of time in this place. She has a lyre on her lap and is too lost in her thoughts to either play it or put it on the ground.

Of course, she looks completely different than she did as a child. He doubts he would be able to recognize her if he didn't know it was her. For a second, he wonders if his sister is actually beautiful or not, but he has seen to many immortal beauties to be able judge a human. She is very short, and her ankles-long black messy braid makes her look even shorter. She is thin, too thin to have any womanly curves. Her lapis dress is almost transparent, and his eyes are sharper than a hawk's. No breasts, no waist, no hips. He doubts even the change will make her look more feminine. But her face is beautiful, and her legs are long for her height. She may not be a beautiful woman, but she surely is a pretty girl. She may still become a splendid immortal.

He can think of no way to make revealing himself to her easier, so he just approaches her. Even if she tried to scream, there is a very small chance someone from the temple would be able to hear her.

"Didyme?"

She jumps and opens her eyes. The instrument she was holding falls to the ground. At first, Aro thinks she is so shocked to see him, but then her breathing gets slower and her panic disappears.

"Was I asleep?" She asks him. He was prepared to answer all possible questions she might have. He never expected that one.

"Yes, you fell asleep. You should be more careful, sister. The desert kills careless people."

"Aro?" she finally wakes up completely. "You look different. Or no, you don't. You should look older, but you don't. Just your skin looks shiny and your eyes changed color. What happened to you? We thought you were dead! Kamilah's husband is supposed to inherit the temple! Where were you?" She gets from sleepy to furious in merely a few seconds. He cannot help but smile watching her nose wrinkles when she is angry.

"I didn't come here to become a priest, Didyme. In fact, I was never interested in serving gods" He prepared this speech before this journey and now the words seem to simply fall out of his mouth. "I put my human life behind me on the day I disappeared twelve years ago."

"What are you?" She is completely awake now. "Have you become one of the gods?"

He is already used to another term his kind usually calls itself, but he doesn't want to overload her with information. "Yes," he answers simply.

His revelation doesn't scare her. Instead of bowing or falling to her knees she sits still on the ground watching him with her large eyes. "How did it happen?" she asks.

This is one of those pieces of information that he didn't want to deliver to her before she made her own decision, but it would be hard to fool her now. "I was bitten by another one."

"Oh. Did it hurt?"

"Yes."

That makes her silent for a moment. He moves closer to her, thinking how to initiate skin contact between them. His gift has become much more powerful than it ever was when he was a human, and he would only need to brush her skin to know all her thoughts. However, it would probably make her extremely angry once she discovered what he did; he doesn't want to deal with an angry newborn, should she decide to be changed. He sits down on the sand close to her.

"Would I become one too, if you bit me?" She is frank, and he does not need to touch her to know she is willing to become one of the immortals.

"Would you like to?" He suspects she has already decided, but there is no need to hurry.

She is silent for a long moment, long enough to make him think he might have misinterpreted her behavior. " I don't want to spend all days like Sebek does. It's boring."

"You wouldn't have too. Actually, sister, I came too offer you absolute freedom. If I change you, you will be able to do everything you ever wanted. You will never die. You will be able to travel without limits. Live wherever you want. Cross the seas in merely few hours. All bonds linking you to your former family will disappear. You will live in a world with no royalty and no slaves. You will have no need for them, because you will be a hundred times stronger than you are now. You will be able to marry whoever you want." He looks at her. "Surely you are already promised to some man?"

Her face looks like a mask; if she feels any emotions, she is good at hiding them.

"Father decided I should stay in the temple. I don't bleed monthly, Aro. I don't know any aspiring poet and future traveler who would fall in love with me and decided to marry me knowing I am unable to bear children. Father would rather keep me here in the first place than risk arranging a marriage knowing my husband would probably divorce me and send me back here in just a few months. I highly doubt he needs a scandal."

"Are you sad about it?"

"Devastated." She doesn't even bother to make it sound truthful. " I won't be forced to take vows with someone who is desperate to be high priest's son-in-law. I won `t become pregnant. I won't get fat and ugly. I will be able to read and draw and play instruments instead of taking care of the children. Have you seen Kamilah?"

He nods, desperately trying to hide his smile. His sister looks absolutely gorgeous when she is angry, agitated or happy. Not to mention that her lack of maternal instinct makes her a perfect choice for an immortal.

"Are you married?" she asks him, all the anger already gone.

This conversation flows in a direction he never planned it would go, and he has to admit he underestimated her. However, it gives him the opportunity to explain how his gift works.

"No," he starts.

"Why not? None of the goddesses are good enough for you?" she giggles, her voice high and ringing. He knows he should probably be angry with her, but it is almost impossible to be mad at Didyme when she starts to laugh.

"Do you remember how I could easily sense what people were thinking?" he asks her.

"Hardly. I guess I was too young, but father mentions it when he talks about you."

"Didyme, when we change into immortals, our talents usually develop. You know I could sometimes sense what someone was thinking. Now I can read all the thoughts you ever had. I just need skin contact."

It takes time before she answers him again.

"Every single thought"?

"Yes."

"Like you watched my life through my own eyes?"

"Exactly."

He can see this revelation makes her uncomfortable.

"Do you have to read them? I mean, if you don't want to do so?"

"Yes. Every time I touch a person, I can see the person's thoughts. I haven't found a way to completely block it, but I can tune it out."

"What am I thinking at the moment?" she places her hand in his palm. She is daring him to guess the word `grape`, but since his mind works much faster than her's, he can watch some of her memories without making her suspicious. Her mind is already made up to become an immortal. He is glad; it will make the rest of their conversation so much easier. However, it was none of his arguments that caused her to choose this way of living. The only thing that she wants is to leave the temple because she won't be forced to help Kamilah with her children. Not that her sister enjoys Didyme around them. He can think of no mother who would enjoy the presence of someone who hates her kids. He tries to find the love the girls shared when they were younger, but there is none left. Interesting. He remembers the talk he had with his new friend, who can see relations between people. Love can easily turn to hate. It would be entertaining to bring both girls up north and see how their bonds changed during all those years, but he has no time for that.

"You want me to guess the word _grapes,_" he answers, but refuses to let go of her hand. It makes her slightly uncomfortable, but Didyme was never a worrying type. For a second, she tries not to think about any compromising things, but she is no fool and knows it won't stop him. Instead, she starts having really vivid thoughts of what might have happen to him, should any of her secrets be ever revealed. He must admit, her imagination is simply wonderful. He is absolutely sure his sister will be a splendid immortal.

Just then her trail of thoughts changes, and she discovers something he never cared about.

"Aro, think about it! None of us can marry, you because of your gift and I because I cannot have children. So maybe after you change me, we could go south, look for Net and Mshai, change them too and then we could build a house in some beautiful place near the sea and live there together forever. We've gotten two letters from them. They found a large lake and decided to go east. They didn't want to come back home, and someone told them about a beautiful island near the coast. They also wrote they will be unable to send any more messages, because the wind carries most of the kites to the sea. It was three years ago. If we could move as fast as you told me, surely we could discover where they are!"

Living on a deserted island has never been his dream, and he refuses to even consider this possibility He also has his doubts about Net being gifted. She may be smart and brave, but he cannot think of anything that would make her special. However, Mshai might possess some kind of talent. He could influence his father to pay for his expedition. Still, he doesn't know the boy well enough to trust him, and, if the boys gift happened to be a powerful one, he could become his rival. No, Net and Mshai will die human, and Didyme will never see them again. But there is no reason to upset her right now. Most of her memories will be lost after she is changed and he can only hope her dream to find her sister and build a sweet little home somewhere close to the sea will be one of them.

"Sister, some friends of mine are waiting for my return .They will be worried, if we spend months looking for Net. We can always come back in a year and look for her."

"Where do you live now?" she asks, breaking the skin contact.

"In the north; in the country where pirates come from."

"Tyrrhenia?" He doesn't need to read her thoughts to know she doesn't approve of his choice. "Why? It's in the middle of nowhere!" He almost laughs when her nose wrinkles again. She may not like the idea of moving away from Kemet, but she has never been on her own and won't leave him to travel alone. Which means, she doesn't have much choice if she wants to be changed. Still, he can try to make it easier for her.

"Don't worry sister. We will bring the civilization to them. You will love Rasenna – that's what the natives call it." She doesn't look convinced, and he is anxious she may back out of her decision, so he offers her the truth.

"Didyme, there are many immortals – or gods…" he adds quickly when she opens her mouth to speak, "…in Kemet. Some of them are fighting for dominance. I know it is your home and you will miss it, but we cannot stay. It is not safe here."

"That's why we could go south and look for Net," she says, but he can already feel she has given up.

"We will find them in the future. I promise you," he smiles, trying to look as encouraging as possible.

"Then, my dear brother, I wish to become a goddess."

Eternity never comes easily to humans. Maybe it is just that their nature is based on changes, or that they cannot even grasp infinity and need a beginning and an end. It is easy to take a life, but much harder to give it. It is almost impossible to force a living, breathing person who is supposed to age and die to freeze and stay as she is now for forever.

Didyme's transformation is far from being fast and smooth. She is afraid of the pain and can't force herself to give him her wrist willingly, so he has to grab it with his abnormal speed and bite it. It doesn't get easier later. She has absolute no tolerance for pain, which makes her throw up until her stomach is completely empty. Then she starts screaming so loud and high, he has to carry her farther into the desert to avoid people from the temple hearing them. It's would normally be very easy for him to carry a human, but she doesn't understand what is going on and tries to fight him off, ending with a broken ankle and one of the bones in her forearm. Which makes her scream even louder and higher than she did before. He tries to calm her down and explain that she will feel this pain for three days and screaming won't make it any better, but he can see in her thoughts that she doesn't understand anything at the moment. The pain is too strong for her, and she just wants it to stop. He even considers if it wouldn't be merciful to kill her, but she somehow manages to faint in that moment. She wakes up only a few hours later only to faint again. It gets more difficult when her transformation is almost complete, and her body is already unable to fall asleep or lose consciousness. After the three days her heartbeat stops and she opens her crimson eyes to a new life.

Of course, she is beautiful, he has to admit it, but it isn't unusual among their kind. She has a diamond shaped face and her features are obviously perfect, but he has seen immortal women far more alluring than she is. Her skin was always dark and now has the olive undertone he never liked; her hair is too dark and much too long for his taste. Transformation changes unnecessary fat into muscle, but since she had none, she is still a little bit too thin. She didn't even develop womanly curves. She is as flat as she was before and her waist is almost non existent. Still, she is a young girl. If she turns out gifted, he is going to keep her. If she doesn't possess any special talents or her talent will is of no use for him, he can always arrange her to be married and form an alliance between two covens. She is young, pretty, and a virgin, he shouldn't have any problems marrying her.

In a second, she is on her feet and immediately goes for his throat; she either shares his gift but isn't limited by skin contact, or she is just going to be one of those furious newborns. Either way, she is stronger and faster than he is, and he has to concentrate on distracting her to avoid being torn into pieces. He tries to lead her closer to the river, hoping that the scent of humans will be enough to distract her. He's right. As soon as she catches the scent of a woman doing her laundry, her fury disappears, and Didyme goes into hunting mode.

There is nothing graceful about her hunt; probably because she is inexperienced and starved. She catches the woman and bites through the woman's throat with so much force she accidentally breaks her spine, immediately killing her. Sucking blood from a dead person is much more difficult than if the woman was alive, but Aro knows his sister is in no condition to take any instructions. In time, she will learn to hunt more smoothly. Today, she is in too desperate need for blood to care about anything. He has to smile watching his sister fight for every single drop that might be left in the body.

"Come. Leave the body in the water; others will think she drowned," he instructs her later.

"But my throat still hurts! Will this pain ever go away?" she ask him. "And my sandals are gone…" She finally notices that all her clothing is torn to shreds and soaked with blood and water. "I need to go to the temple to change"

It wouldn't be good for her mental health if she killed her father while looking for some clothes, and he doesn't want her disappearance to look like an escape.

"You won't need your shoes anymore. We have to swim to get to Rasenna, so there is no point in going home to fetch your clothes. Once we get to the shore, you can always look for a dress you like and hunt its owner"

"But I like my clothes. I don't want any others!" For a second, he feels like those twelve years didn't pass, and his sister was still three years old. The only thing he has to remember about is that this sweet, tiny girl is probably twice as strong as he is. There is no point in making her furious.

"Wait for me, then" . He leaves her on the shore and goes back to the temple. He doesn't even hope people have failed to notice her disappearance till now. He is sure she is assumed dead, but maybe they are still looking for her body… He is lucky; the temple is almost deserted, except for Kamilah's room. He takes two of her dresses, one red and one blue. He wonders if they will survive their underwater journey.

He is back only a minute later. Of course, she doesn't wait in the place he left her. He cannot find her trail anywhere on the land, which means she decided to swim. He doesn't believe she tried to escape him, or, if she did, it was a fresh thought. He ponders if he should look for her up or down the river when he hears the first screams.

He doesn't even bother fooling himself they may not have anything to do with his sister. Of course, it could be a crocodile, hippo, or lion. It could even be a human killer. However, he is somehow sure the screaming has something to do with his newborn sister.

He is absolutely right. He gets to the place in merely few seconds only to find Didyme in the middle of a blood bath. Some travelers were unlucky enough to choose to walk along the river, and she has probably heard or noticed them while swimming. He notices two drained corpses lying on the sand. Two others still have a heartbeat. Five humans are too much even for a young immortal. Didyme has left one bitten and screaming from the pain and seems to be playing cat and mouse with the other. He has seen newborns in Rasenna and he can still remember the thirst and rage that ruled in his life soon after his own change, so instead of shouting at her, he kneels above the bitten man. The young man smells of alcohol and fermented apples, which is probably why his sister choose to leave him after she tasted his blood. Aro could probably find a better victim, but he cannot hear any people close to them, and, if he decided to hunt in few hours, his sister would be thirsty again. There is no point in worrying her, but Kemet is not their territory and he wants to leave it as soon as possible. The girl has already attracted too much attention: he can only hope no other immortals choose to hunt near the river or use it to travel. He is not particularly strong, and Didyme may be as strong as she will ever be, but she probably never had to fight even as a human. She would loose immediately, if it came to a battle. They have to get out of here now, but a frightened, panicked newborn who cannot hide its feelings may be even easier to notice than a happy one. She doesn't need to know anything… yet.

"Do you want to drain him, or can I have this man?" He points at the man lying at his feet. The other one gave up and is now lying on the sand, begging his sister for mercy.

"You can have him. He tastes funny," she smiles before biting the man in front of her.

A few minutes later, both the men are completely drained.

"Come: I will teach you how to hide the bodies." He approaches her when he is sure she has finished feeding and is not going to attack.

"Can't we just leave them on the bank?". Lazy immortal. He has to smile at that though.

"We don't want to be discovered."

""By whom?"

" I am trying to hide our existence from the humans." A half-true or, maybe, a white lie, but she accept it.

"What do we do then?"

"We will bury the bodies in the mud on the bottom of the river"

"All right."

She is new to this life and has a lot of fun when she tries to dig a hole in the bottom and place her kill inside it. It makes Aro really glad. It seems her newborn fury has already passed. She still behaves like a child, but he believes she is not going to attack him again, without having a reason.

After she is finished with hiding the evidence of their hunt, he gives her the dresses he has fetched for her from the temple. They are both wet but intact. Soon the scraps of her former dress flow along the river, while Aro and Didyme begin their journey up north.


	3. A new Life

**Twilight and it's all characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Thank you for your help, I-kno-you-want-me**

**Guys, this is the third chapter. Please, make sure to review it or just leave a note that you read it. I haven`t got one single review; I have no idea if anyone is reading it…**

3. A New Life

After leaving the Nile delta behind them, Aro and Didyme dive into the sea. He feels safer then; even if somebody decided to follow them in Kemet, he would loose their scent now. The water holds no dangers for immortals, and he can finally marvel his first successful creation.

His sister has gotten bored of jumping out of the water, singing, and pretending to be a mermaid and has decided to follow a small skull of fishes, giggling and swallowing tons of water every time they change direction to avoid her. She is happy and content, one of the first newborns who isn't cursing fate after her transformation. He cannot find traces of any strong gift he has hoped she would posses, though. She couldn't talk him into searching for Net and Mshai; he didn't feel compelled for even a second. So, unfortunately, it is most likely she cannot affect someone's decisions. Too bad. There is still a slight possibility she can make people fall in love with her. He doesn't feel any kind of special attraction, but he is her brother. However, he can manipulate her like any other person. If Didyme could make people love her, wouldn't it be difficult to force her in to something she wouldn't want to do? He sights. She may not be gifted, but something tells him it is not true. There is something special about his sister; there always was. It is just so…elusive. But he will have all the time in the world to find out what gifts she may possess. He has to admit, he rather enjoys her company. It is almost impossible to feel awkward when she is around. Gifted or not, it is good that his sister decided to join him in eternal life.

Just then, she notices a giant shape circling them in the distance. Her first, human instinct is to swim as fast as she can to her brother. She is moving too quick for the animal to follow her, and it is starting to swim away, searching for some easier prey. That's when his sister finally realizes who she has become. Didyme gives Aro an apologetic look, throws him the other dress he had fetched for her in the temple, and starts chasing the animal.

The shark is not used to being someone's prey. After it realizes it cannot outrace this little creature, it begins to circle her again, trying to find the best angle for attack. Her human fear has disappeared completely. Now she is simply floating in one place, waiting to see what will happen.

The animal starts swimming in her direction with the speed that would have terrified her only a few days ago, but now she can easily move to avoid the shark's teeth. Only she doesn't want to. Instead, she spits some bubbles of the air into his head. The shark's jaws close on her arm, and she can hear some of its teeth breaking. She watches how the animal tries to rip off her arm and then realizes that, even though its teeth cannot hurt her in any way, her dress isn't just as lucky. The shark reduced one of her favorite garments to a piece of scraps.

Her mood drops in only a few seconds and the playful match between two predators changes into Didyme's personal vendetta against the beast. She catches his upper and lower jaw and pushes them into different directions. The animal is no match for her. Its body crumbles when she rips his head off. The scent of shark's blood is disgusting, so she leaves him for other sea creatures and joins her brother.

"Aro, I want a shark. Give me my blue dress. I'm in desperate need for new clothes, brother. You shouldn`t have left them in the temple."

"You cannot have your own shark, because they die captive, and you have to remember you are now much stronger then your garments," he notices that his answer makes her angry. " We will hunt as soon as we reach the shore. You can take your prey's clothes, or I'll go into town and fetch you something. Don't worry, sister."

"All right," her anger is already gone "Race with me!" she shouts, and disappears under the surface again.

A few hours later, they reach the coast in Rasenna. Didyme may not like the cold, but she is still mesmerized by this strange and wild beach. The only familiar thing is the sand, but it is whiter than the one in Kemet and it covers only the few meters closest to the sea. Farther, she can see plants, high, pointed trees, grass that she has only seen on the island of Sebek, and hills, much higher than the sand dunes she had close to her former home. The air smells of rain and wetness, a scent she is not familiar with, but one she immediately likes . Kemet smelled of the sun. Rasenna smells of life.

She can hear human voices, and her throat immediately catches fire. She starts smelling the air, trying to locate a human with a particularly sweet blood, when Aro grabs her hand.

"Not now. We are too close to the town."

She does her best to ignore the fire.

"This is where you live?" she asks, trying to concentrate on something else other than the pain in her throat and the wonderful scent.

"No. This is Fufluna. We are going to Velathri."

The names are awkward, and her thirst too strong too ignore for much longer. She doesn't want to explain it, so she just places her palm into his hand. Aro closes his eyes, and she wonders if he found some of her thought interesting,;he lets her hand go.

" I see. You need to hunt. Don't worry sister; I am not going to keep you thirsty."

" Should I change now?" she wonders, looking at the remains of her red dress.

"After we hunt."

"Aro, how can you hunt so smoothly? I don't want to lose my clothes every time I feed."

It's going to be very difficult for her to learn how to hunt in a more civilized way when she is only few days old. However, she has a real motivation.

"I will teach you. Come!" They start running. Didyme is still testing her new body, which makes their journey much longer than he expected, but it's almost impossible not to laugh when she tries to jump across the river or lift a particularly large stone. He uses this time to search for some lonely travelers, preferably tiny women with colorful clothes.

"Careful! Choose where you will bite first. Remember that the blood will drip. If you want your prey's clothes, make sure she falls to the ground when you attack her. Her clothes may be get a little bit dirty then, but they won`t be soaked with blood. If you find some stains, make sure to wash the garment in cold water as soon as possible. You may also try to bite on the wrist instead of going for your victim`s throat," he instructs her. Didyme looks hypnotized; her eyes never leave the young woman who decided to take a nap on one of the hills. "Don't play with your food - attack, drink all the blood, take the clothes, and bury the body. Now go, sister."

He has to admit her third hunt is cleaner than the first two. Maybe she will be a quick learner, and her newborn days won't be messy. Or maybe she is just desperate to acquire some clothes. She is still possessed by the scent of blood, and there is no way she could stop after she had caught a human's scent, but he has to admit she made some progress.

"It doesn't fit at all, does it?" she asks later. She is wearing a long dress in shades of reddish brown, with short sleeves and red pattern in the middle of it. She also has a long white down skirt under it. Unfortunately, the dress is too big on top, too tight around her waist, and slightly too baggy around her hips.

"Can you sew?" He doubts it; he has seen enough of her memories to know she avoided any household works.

"No."

"Leave the dress then. I'll have some new clothes made for you as soon as we get to Velathri. You can wear your other dress till we get there."

"Wait." She takes her last garment from Kemet and disappears behind a tree. A few seconds later, she is back. Her last dress is more formal than the other two, and it looks like it was designed for celebration of the goddess of night. It is in navy blue and embroidered all over with gold stars. She added to it the red, pointy shoes of her last victim.

"Now you look like a goddess. Are you ready to go?" he asks her.

"I think so. Are we far from… Velathri?" Her recall is perfect, but her tongue unused to the strange language.

"Not far from it. Do you like Rasenna?"

"It looks like an enormous orchard," she answers. It is not a "no", but Aro is slightly worried. He tries to think of a way to touch her and see if the plans to go south are still there. He has got a feeling the trust Didyme used to put in him when she was a little girl disappeared completely. Not that it would be unexpected. She was three when he left. It was so easy to earn her trust at that time. She is a grown up right now. She doesn't credit so easily.

"The first time I came here I was enchanted. I couldn't imagine a place so green could exist. Have you ever seen such trees? They are called cypresses. The leaves that cover the trunk aren't part of the three – this is ivy. It smells nice. The red flowers you see everywhere are poppies…"

"I like them," she smiles, taking one and trying to put it in her braid. This is exactly what he hoped for.

"Give it to me. I'll help you," he says, taking the flower. " Actually, your braid hardly survived our underwater trip," he smiles, unbuttoning the ribbon at the end of it. Soon, her hair is loose, and he starts braiding it again. She trusts him with it; he had done it many times when she was too young to do it herself. She doesn't notice that his fingers linger on her scalp for longer than necessary before he starts braiding, this time with the red flower upon her head. The contact is not long, but enough for him to know she still hasn't got over her dream to find her older sister and her husband and live with them. He sights.

"What is it, Aro?" she asks immediately.

" I can see you don't like this place." His new tactic is risky, but he has to deal with her longing once and for good. "We are almost at Velathri". He looks straight into her eyes, letting her think she is the one who will make the final decision. "What I'm doing here is very important to me. But we will go home, if that's what you want. I just want you to give this place a try. If it doesn't meet your expectations, I will take you to Kemet right away. I promised you, that we will find Net and Mshai. Don't worry, sister," he adds.

She doesn't answer for a long time.

"Do you want to go back right now?" he asks, his voice being nothing but sincerity and grief.

"No" she answers, not willing to cause him pain. "Let's go see Velathri. But I promise you, Aro, after a year I'm going to force you, to go back," she grins.

They enter Velathri at dawn, when their skin doesn't look so shiny anymore. Didyme cannot see anything wrong with attracting attention, but she doesn't want to make her brother angry. Instead, she allows him to explain her about the town. It lies on a hill so high it could be considered a natural fortification, but apparently the citizens didn't think it would be enough. The ramparts go far into the country, to enclose all the resources of the area.

"What are they afraid of?" she asks, using all the air she has in her lungs.

"Invasion from the north. But it isn't our concern," he explains. "Don't breathe."

She nods and follows him into the city. It looks different than anything she has seen yet. There are no large temples or big households; only little houses, laying very close to each other. He leads her farther, and she smiles at the thought that they actually left the actual town, but still remain within its fortifications. She follows him through a very large orchard, and the human scent disappears. She can only smell lemon flowers, cypresses, and lilies. The four houses lying close to the city walls are slightly bigger than the ones she had seen in the downtown, but still cannot compare with the temple she was raised in. The one he leads her to has two small bed chambers, one other room, and, in front of the house, a tiny atrium with possibly a hundred of slender columns.

She cannot help raising her brow.

"Everyone has them here," he explains. "Come, I'll show you your room".

Her room is the smallest in the house. Inside, she finds one bed with turned feet, a very small table with legs like horses, two seats, and bronze candelabra.

"Are you telling me that you hoped I would live here together with Net, Lotus and Kamilah all together?" she asks.

"I wasn't sure I would find any of you," he explains. "You can have your own house in the future. Besides, it is not so bad. You know you don't need to sleep or feed in this room. You only need to stay here when it's raining and you want to read, draw, or play music."

"I assume you forgot I don't have any musical instruments? Or papyrus for that matter?"

"You will have them tomorrow. However, I have something that should remind you of Kemet," he smiles.

"What is it, Aro?" She is as impatient as she was twelve years ago. He reaches into his pocket and pretends to look for something.

"What is it?" She asks again, with a hint of anger.

"Close your eyes."

Instead of obeying him, she just rolls them. There is no point in irritating her further, so he just places the little stone tiger in her hands.

"I took it from the temple when I came for your clothes. Happy?"

"Yes!" She means it, he can feel it; in this moment, she is almost radiating with happiness.

"Good. Now, if you are ready, I would like you to meet the rest of your new family."

It is already completely dark. The sun disappeared almost an hour ago, and there are too many clouds to see the stars, but Didyme can see everything perfectly. There are three immortals standing in the middle of the atrium - two females and one male. The woman in the middle seems to be in her fifties or forties, but it's hard to be sure with all her wrinkles gone. However, her features look sharper than those of the other girl's, so Didyme assumes she must be older. She also looks like the leader of the group and like someone who is going to protect the others if this little newborn proves to be dangerous to them. Didyme smiles and tries to look as non-threatening as possible. It seems to work, because the woman relaxes and starts talking to Aro in a language the priest's daughter has never heard in her whole life.

She tries to follow their conversation for a while, but none of the words are familiar to her; soon, she has to give up. Instead, she takes a look at the other two immortals. The other woman is tall and curvy; her brown, wavy hair falls gently on her back. She is probably in her mid-twenties. She is also very pretty, and Didyme cannot decide if what she feels is admiration or plain jealousy. The man is probably the tallest she has seen in her whole life. He is much older than the second woman and slightly younger than the first one, which means he is probably in his early forties. It is so difficult to guess the right age when it comes to immortals. She sights.

The older woman is finished talking to her brother and asks Didyme something in her strange, unknown language, full of 'kh's' and lacking of 'o's'. The girl smiles again, not sure if she should answer in Egyptian or stay silent. Aro says something, and the woman nods.

"Your brother tells me that you don't speak our language," her Egyptian is rough, like she struggles to pronounce each word. "Do you speak Greek, girl?"

"Not really." For a second, she wishes she'd learned; it's not that she didn't have opportunity in a temple with so many workers and thousands of merchants visiting every year.

"My name is Ramta Matunai Canatnei," the older one says. The way she pronounces the 'r' makes Didyme think of scratching a tree with someone's fingernails. "These are Ranthu Ranazuia and Marce. I understand that you are Didyme Valathr?"

Didyme looks at her startled. As far as she knows, she doesn't possess any last name; there was no need for it She was usually called Didyme, Didyme from the temple, or Didyme - daughter of the high priest of Sebek on very formal occasions. Also, the name Valathr sounds like it came from this country, not from Kemet; it actually makes her think of the town they live in. She notices Aro gives her an angry look and finally answers.

"That's correct."

"Your brother is part of my coven. He suspects you may possess a very strong gift and be useful to me. Can you think of any new ability that you developed after you were changed?"

Her coven? Didyme is starring at the woman with her mouth wide open. Of course, she should have known. She should have noticed when Aro told her they couldn't go south because his friends were waiting for him. His constant hurry to come back to Rasenna. The way he always talked about 'his coven' waiting for them. He is part of this group, but he isn't the leader. How could he? He is a stranger like her, a foreigner in this country. Not to mention that he was never a leader; he wasn't even a priest at home. He was just taking care of the temple's business. She should have known...

"I'm not sure," she answers after a long pause. She hopes none of the others notice how shaken she is. " I am constantly thirsty; I can run faster than ever; I'm so strong I can fight with sharks…" She is glad the change deprived her of tears; her voice sounds perfect and smooth as ever.

The younger woman suddenly says something in this strange, unknown language. Didyme doesn't even try to follow this time. Instead, she tries to figure out what she should do next. Rasenna doesn't look like the place she always dreamt of. She is not interested in being part of any coven, but she could use the time here to learn. Etruscan, Greek – she has a feeling she could absorb any knowledge she wanted without any effort – now, when her recall is perfect and her brain is able to collect all information she would want. Then, after she learns the ways of the immortals and all languages she might need to travel, she will be able to leave this place and never come back. Now, that she has a plan, her anger disappears completely, and she has a feeling she will easily adapt to this place. She is actually glad, almost happy.

"Ranthu suspects you may be able to influence emotions." The older woman speaks again "You don't behave like other newborns. You don't throw tantrums. What you did during hunting doesn't count," she adds, when Didyme struggles to say something. "We have all been through it. I saw you getting angry few seconds ago, and then your anger disappeared. I could see you were content. More than content, but happy. You have to know that I was able to feel your happiness, too. Your brother told me before that people tended to love you. I suspect it might be because you made them feel happy."

"I guess that's possible." Didyme cannot think of anything else she could say. Aro doesn't look pleased with her answer. She ignores him. He didn't lie to her directly, but she is tired of being manipulated. She will always love her older brother, but the trust she used to put in him is gone. Forever. She has to smile, thinking how this word changed it's meaning during the last few days.

"I suppose your talent could be useful. I hoped for a stronger gift, like your brother or Marce possess, but you might be exactly what I need. You see, it is very difficult to run a coven full of predators. We go for each other throats every single day. Your gift could create a real family out of five individuals…" she ponders for a moment. "Can you stay with your brother, or do you want your own house?" She asks finally.

Of course, Didyme would love to live on her own, but it doesn't seem fair, when she already knows she is going to leave them as soon as she will be able to.

"I can live with Aro… For now."

The formal part of the meeting is over, and Ramta changes back to Etruscan. She keeps discussing something with Aro, and Didyme has a feeling they are talking about his trip. At least, they use words like Nile and Nebit, so their topic is likely connected to Kemet. Meanwhile, the other woman moves closer to her. Ranthu Ranazuia... If the whole language is as complicated as the names are, her newest task may be harder than she thought.

"Didyme?" the woman smiles gently, and the girl wonders if they will be able to communicate without help. She grins back and fishes for her supposed gift. If Ranthu is shy, it wouldn't hurt to make her feel better. Maybe it will give her courage to speak.

"Your name is Greek, you know that?" Her Egyptian is even worse than Ramta and Didyme tries not to flinch.

"Yes. It was my brothers idea. He didn't like the name my father wanted to give me and voted for this one instead," she says quickly and immediately regrets it. Her new friend keeps watching her with a frightened look, like she didn't understand a word, not matter how hard she tried to. ""My. Brother. Liked. The. Greek. Name. Better," she adds much slower, making sure the woman will be able to get it this time.

"Oh. I see. Do you like it here?" Another struggled question.

"Yes". It's not exactly true, but she doesn't want to offend her brother's friends. Not to mention, she cannot imagine how she could explain her dislike to someone who knows only few words in Egyptian.

"Good", Ranthu grins. "Beautiful in summer," she adds.

Didyme has no idea what is so beautiful in the summer, but she guesses they are still talking about this country.

"I believe you." She smiles again, hoping this conversation is coming to an end.

"Your hair is so beautiful. So long." Not, it's not over. Actually, she doesn't mind Ranthu. The woman is really trying to be nice and make Didyme feel welcomed. If only they could find a language they both knew.

"Thank you." She wonders if she should tell that her natural hair was a rarity in Kemet. She decides against it; it would probably be impossible to make the other understand.

"Do you need… Ugh.. Anything?"

She could use some clothes, more shoes and somebody to teach her Etruscan and Greek. She also wouldn't mind getting some kind of a writing surface and instruments. A lyre would be perfect, but her fingers are so agile now she believes she won't have any problems with any other. She suspects Ranthu wouldn't understand any instrument names, so she just grins again.

"I like music," she answers.

"Oh. I will get you…" Ranthu says some strange unknown word "…then".

"That's wonderful," Didyme smiles. Only a few seconds ago, she just wanted the woman to stop talking. However, Ranthu seems nice and she begins to like her. "Who is the other man?" She adds, pointing at Marce, to give her new friend a clue what she is talking about.

"Marce." Ranthu nods, tryning to show to she understood her question. "He has… a strong gift. He not.. don't … doesn't ..." she struggles to find the right sentence construction, "speak Egyptian. Or Greek. Only Etruscan."

That's fine with Didyme; she is already slightly overwhelmed. Instead of saying anything, she grins widely and tries to touch him with her gift. She has no idea if he can fell her influence or not, but he mimics her smile.

After one hour of constant gesticulation, searching for similar words only to find there were none and using Aro as her interpreter, Didyme is free to do whatever she wishes. Her brother is still discussing something with Ramta, so she is perfectly alone in her new, little house, but she cannot think of any pattern she should follow now. It was so much easier when she was a human; after the dusk, she wouldn't be able to see well enough to do anything, and she would soon feel tired and go to sleep. She doesn't need sleep now. It was also easier when she was with Aro, because there was always something they needed to do. At first, it was her change, then the hunting, later their journey to Rasenna, a little bit of sightseeing, and meeting her new family; family, because she refuses to think of Ramta, Ranthu and Marce as only a coven

She was prejudiced when she saw them for the first time; when she realized that Aro didn't tell her the truth. The only thing she wanted then was to go back home. She still plans to find her sister, but the year she has to spend here doesn't sound like a sentence anymore. It is colder and less sunny than Kemet, but she must admit, it doesn't bother her after she became an immortal. Ramta seems like a strict person, but so did Nebi, and Didyme always loved her father despite of that. Ranthu is sweet, nice, and really tries to be helpful. She immediately offered to sew her new clothes and also promised to deliver her something to read and to teach her Etruscan. That is, if Didyme understood her correctly. Marce is still a mystery. She wonders what gift he may possess, Ranthu tried to explain to her something about it, but she couldn't understand a word. She will have to ask Aro, when he gets back.

Aro… She cannot decide what she should do about her brother. Her human memories are dim and she cannot think of a moment when he deliberately lied to her, but he has seen her thoughts and never corrected her false assumptions. She takes the now dead poppy from her hair, throws it to the ground, and starts unbraiding. She always wished for her brother to come back, and she is glad he did. He has made her what she is now, a beautiful, immortal and invincible creature. She will be always grateful for this. Her hair is completely loose, and she lets it fall on the bed and to the ground. The light waves her braid created immediately straighten. Didyme sights.

It must be past midnight now. She wishes for the ability to sleep or for any entertainment to kill the time and allow her to think about anything else than her brother. Ramta told her not to wander inside the city walls until she is completely sure the scent of humans won't make her attack them. Of course, she could always jump over the wall… However, she has no idea what she could do after that. See the neighborhood? Go to the seashore? She was already there a few hours ago. She would love to see the city, but the idea of wandering alone while not breathing isn't really that appealing.

Didyme starts combing her hair with her fingers, making a mental note to ask Ranthu for a real comb. Her mind wonders back to her brother. She needs to decide whether to trust him, or not, and the sooner, the better. She starts braiding again, dividing her hair into two braids this time and then binds both of them with one ribbon. Another mental note – more ribbons. However, her hands are agile, and her mind ready to deal with much more than braiding and thinking at the same time.

First, she should stop sharing her thoughts with her brother, until he proves worthy. Second, she needs to find out how he got there and why he joined Ramta's coven. Third, she needs to find out why he decided to go back and look for her. She also needs to discover the range of her gift. Can she influence people's emotions, or just make them happy? Her brother probably wishes for the first, but Ramta seems to be find both possibilities useful. Fourth, she needs to learn Etruscan, Greek, and any other language she might need while traveling alone. And fifth, she needs to find out what Marce's gift is. For no particular reason, but he is the most mysterious person in this group, and she wants to learn his secrets.


	4. Visitor

**Hi! I know it took me over a month to write this chapter. Sorry, it just that the summer is really hot here and I can hardly concentrate. I'm currently writing chapter five, I think I should be able to post it in July. Please review!**

Visitor

Didyme lies on the grass with her arm stretched out to the sun and watches her skin shine like thousand of tiny diamonds. The air seems to be wavering from heat, and her normally stone cold body, warmed by the sunshine, feels different now. She doesn't mind. She's always loved the heat, even as a human. Few dim memories come back to her, and she remembers how it felt to lie like this two years ago, when the sun used to make her sleepy, and her skin would turn dark in only few hours. She can also remember the scent it left on her skin, so different than how humans normally smell. The scent of sand, sweat and slightly burnt skin. After the change, her body became completely immune to the sunlight, insuring she will never burn again. Also, her skin won't change color; it will always have the olive undertone. She liked it better when it was brown, but she loves the way it sparkles now. The skin of other immortals she knows shines like tiny diamonds with a hint of silver. Her's looks like diamonds covered with gold.

She closes her eyes, and lies completely still, concentrating only on her breathing. Her skin is warm and she could probably pass for a human, if not the sparkling. For someone passing by, she would probably look like someone who fell asleep from the heat. Not that she is trying to attract humans, but just the opposite. She doesn't need to hunt, and killing someone at that moment would probably ruin her mood.

Her scent is getting stronger from the heat; Ranthu once said she smells like freesias and a spice the other had found during her travels with Ramta – like vanilla. Didyme has never seen vanilla, but she likes her new scent - so sweet and warm.

She begins to sing, rather happy with the way her voice sounds. She always had a beautiful voice, high and ringing, slightly darker and stronger than high voices usually sound, but the change made her able to almost hypnotise others with it. She could accompany herself on instrument if she only wished to do so; it took her only few weeks to learn how to play cittern. Ranthu also taught her many flute melodies, but flute was never one of her favorite instruments. Probably because it is impossible to play it and sing at the same time.

Learning Etruscan wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be when she heard it for the first time. She has to admit, it wasn't the easiest language to learn; it was much more difficult than Greek, Sumerian, Minoan, Canaanite and Phoenician. It took her more than two months to master it. Even Aro is impressed with her skills. He suspects there may be a connection between her ability to learn foreign languages and her devotion to music. It may be so. She never had to study hard to get the grammar right. It was rather like playing; every word was like a note which had to be placed in the proper place, to create a melody. And her voice was always a perfect instrument; mimicking accents came to her so easy, like if she was singing.

Unfortunately, other things don't come that easily to her. It's her second summer as an immortal, and she still struggles in the presence of humans. She tries to avoid accidents in the city by hunting close to the seashore every other day, but sometimes it isn't enough. Her brother and Ramta are getting impatient trying to conceal all her slips. Once she caught scent of a young man and followed him home inside the city walls and Aro had to make sure there were no survivors among his family. Ramta was ready to banish Didyme from her coven. It was Ranthu, who begged for her new friend so hard. The other had to give up. No, being an immortal is much harder than she ever thought.

Still, even if there was a way to become a human again, she wouldn't choose it. She loves her new freedom, the ability do everything she wants, and all the free time she gained because she doesn't need to sleep.

Her song lingers in the air; there is no wind to carry it farther. The girl wonders if Ramta would be angry, if she ever discovered the reason for Didyme's trips. Still, is there anything wrong with lying in the sun? Even if some unfortunate humans happen to be close enough to see her, she would be able to hear their heartbeats and their breathing and would make sure the existence of the immortals is never revealed. She cannot think of any reason why Ramta and her brother are so protective of their secret. Still, if it makes them happy, she is willing to comply.

Speaking of making people happy, her gift is probably the most wonderful thing that ever happened to her. Aro told her mastering his talent was probably one of the most disgusting experiences he had ever had. Instead of seeing flashes of someone's memories, he could see the whole life of a person passing in front of his eyes every time he touched somebody. At first, he couldn't even tune it out. She can't imagine how difficult it was for him to hunt at that time. Still, maybe that's the reason why he's always in perfect control among the humans, and she is not. Her gift makes other love her. Mothers trust her with their children, when she promises to take them back to the city, travelers allow her to lead them far from the trail, when she claims her friend got lost, and most of the young men in Velathri are in love with her. She laughs. She never thought one day she would have so many suitors. Her brother is far from happy and fears people will notice their disappearance. She wonders if there is any way to avoid those death and decides she cannot help it. Some of those men look for her in the orchard and get too close to their house, others try to lure her out of the town with promises of a happy life together. None of these men were ever seen again after such a meeting. Didyme sights. Aro is probably right. People will get suspicious if it continues. She will have to find a way to make her break-ups slightly more classy and mature than going for someone's throat.

Unwanted suitors… There is another one, one she cannot deal with like with the others. For the first few weeks of her stay, Marce avoided her completely. It didn't bother her; she was still overwhelmed by the change, her journey and the new place she had to live in. It wasn't until a month later, when he showed up talking to her in flawless Egyptian, that she understood it wasn't dislike that kept him from her.. Though she didn't share his gift, it was impossible not to notice that he was madly in love with her. He would always ask her questions; some of them, mostly those about Kemet, she would answer without hesitation, but others, these about her new home, bothered her. She also never felt completely comfortable around him once she learned he was able to see the bonds linking people… Because Didyme has no idea how she feels about Marce.

She doesn't love him, she is sure of that, and he has to see it too. She doesn't hate him, either, and that's probably why he keeps trying so hard. She may know how his gift works now, but this man is still a mystery to her. Didyme doesn't like him near her, probably because of his constant efforts to court her. She knows he won't be satisfied with the friendship she is ready to offer, and she doubts her feelings will ever change.

It's not that she isn't ready to find love. Actually, she would be really glad to find someone to love and cherish her for eternity. A man who would share her dream about leaving this country and finding a new home somewhere in the south. For a second, she wonders how old are Net and Mshai. Twenty-six and twenty-nine. A perfect age to be changed, much better than hers. She sights. Aro could wait a few more years.

Would Marce ever leave this place to journey with her? She doubts it. He was born and raised in Rasenna, and she cannot possibly imagine him living outside this country. Actually, the thought of him in Kemet makes her giggle. She tries to imagine his reaction to wigs and make-up, to the clothes so much more daring than the garments here… Ranthu tried to sew her a few dresses that looked like what people usually wore in Nebit, but Ramta and Aro thought Didyme would attract too much unwanted attention. She is now wearing an Etruscan dress in pink and purple ,with a blue over tunic upon it. Ranthu gave her a golden medallion to wear with it, but Didyme never liked jewelry. The medallion got lost. Such a terrible accident… She smiles.

Speaking of jewelry, Marce has an annoying habit of giving her gifts she doesn't like. A golden chain that somehow drowned in the river. A pendant that was destroyed when she was hunting. She wonders if he will ever see that she hates bijou. She sights.

He probably won't. As much as she tried to avoid him, he still managed to tell her his life story. He was born on a farm close to Aret seventy-four years ago, and later, worked there in an orchard very similar to the one they live in now. He was married and had two daughters. He never wanted to leave. After he was changed, probably by a starved undead who killed a few of his co-workers and left him bitten on the ground, Marce decided to look for others like him. He found Ramta and Ranthu when he traveled west. His plan to bring his former family into immortal life didn't work out – ten years later, when he got back, his wife was happily married. His gift had already been developed at that time, and he was surprised to see that the bond he expected to find between them didn't exist anymore. She had moved on. He did too. He still cared for her, but all the love was gone. After seeing that his former family was happy he left them some money and decided to disappear from their lives completely. Didyme cannot think of any reason why he should tell her such a story. And what angers her the most is the fact, that she is actually glad the woman is probably dead by now. Or very old. Why does she even care?

She cannot possibly imagine being with Marce. Two years ago, he couldn't even read. Of course, he immediately started learning when he saw her writing down what happened from the time her brother found her in Kemet till present time. Aro wasn't thrilled about her journal, but in general, Aro wasn't thrilled about anything that could reveal their presence to the humans. Ranthu loved her stories and Ramta was content with Didyme writing their histories as long as they were impossible for humans to read. That's why the girl decided to use Egyptian. She highly doubts anyone in Velathi except for the immortals can understand it.

She never allowed Marce to read her stories. What was the point? She didn't feel like explaining every detail, because he had never been outside this country or done anything more challenging than picking apples. A silent voice in her head tells her that her life in Kemet was hardly challenging as well. She ignores it completely and goes back to her singing. This time, instead of humming a melody, she starts hitting various high notes. They sound funny in this place, slightly vibrating in the air too hot to carry the sound anywhere.

That's when she can hear someone walking in the grass, probably two and a half kilometers from her. Whoever it is, he or she has to be an immortal. She can hear footsteps now, and no human being could possibly move that fast. Didyme stops breathing, but she already knows the other undead had to of heard her singing. She wonders if she should call out and see who this mysterious guest is, but decides against it. The footsteps are too heavy for a woman. If this undead happened to be a friend, it wouldn't probably matter; she would just invite him to their city. However, if he turns hostile, there is no way a tiny girl could win in a fight.

Didyme knows she will lead him straight to Velathri, if she starts running now, but she can already hear how fast he is. It would be almost impossible to lose or outrun him. She starts running straight to the city. She never turns to see who is behind her. A few minutes later, Didyme jumps over the fortification. The other doesn't follow, but she can still hear his breath on the other side of the wall. She is almost home right now, and it makes her braver. Should the other choose to jump, Aro and the others will surely hear her scream. She places her left hand on the stone wall, wondering what he is waiting for. His breathing is hard, like if he were a human and tired from running such a long distance, but she knows it's not the case. This artificial panting creeps her out and makes her freeze in place. Only seconds separate her from the houses in the orchard, but she is unable to move or shout for attention. Whoever is on the other side of the wall, his presence screams of danger. She stands with her hand on the stone, completely hypnotized. She struggles to hear anything else, maybe some kind of movement, anything that could tell her if her mysterious follower is going to attack or walk away, but all she is able to hear is the panting.

And then the other starts to laugh. His voice is strange for a man, high and very husky. It is enough to scare her even more, but it also breaks the spell she was under. She starts running, not caring to turn and see if he decided to follow her.

Only two hours later, two hours of showing her thoughts to Aro, who is really cross she didn't see the man's face and being almost interrogated by Ramta, who had probably a billion of questions about the man's voice and the way he approached Didyme, the girls is sure that the peaceful days in Velathri are over. Her brother and her leader are both positive this unexpected guest is going to come back. And that he may bring others with him. He was only fifty meters from the first house; he had to be able to catch the scent of the others. Ramta guesses that's why he decided to back away. He already knew where they lived and didn't want to start a fight. Aro and Marce are sent to search for this mysterious visitor, but his trail leads east, through the mountains and to the other seashore. It disappears in the water and they are unable to follow him farther.

The next days are difficult for Didyme. She is the one who accidentally revealed their secret place, and Ramta is not an easy-forgiving person. She is sure she will be forced to leave the second her leader is sure the other immortal is not a threat anymore. But what Ramta needs right now are numbers. If the other coven is small, they may decide not to attack if they see five undead living together. If there are several, they may try to lure them out of the city to avoid being spotted by the humans. Or at least, that's what Aro and Ramta think. Didyme cannot see the reason to stay hidden from the humans and doubts other immortals would bother. Even if they did, they don't live in the actual city. Would it be so hard to attack them in the middle of day, when the town is loud and busy? Would anyone hear their fight? Humans would probably think one of the buildings collapsed. Would they bother checking if their strange neighbors who never socialize with them are unharmed? Even if they did, what could they possibly do to help them? The execution would probably just change into an enormous feast...

"You're worried," Ranthu tries to sound like nothing has happened, but Didyme is a good actress too and can see through the others facade. She just rolls her eyes.

"I know Ramta gives you a hard time. I didn't want to argue, but you need to know it's not the first time something like this has happened. Whoever was here a few days ago, we could both recognize his scent. I believe he has been tracking us for a few years. Now, it is your fault he actually found out where we live, but I guess he would still find a way to Velathri if you didn't lead him."

It's a new information, and Didyme raises her head.

"Do you know who he is?

"No, I haven't seen his face. Neither did Ramta. I believe he is a tracker, not a particularly gifted one. He couldn't find our exact location without your help." She winks to show she doesn't mind, and Didyme can't help but giggle. She always hated tension and is glad to have a friend on her side. "But he was probably able to sense that there were some immortals in Western Rasenna. I have no idea why he chose not to reveal himself. Maybe he was afraid. We are quite a big coven now, you know?" She grins and sits down close to her friend under a particularly huge lemon tree.

Being a pessimist doesn't come easily to Didyme, but she tries to be reasonable this time.

"How many people where there when you first caught his scent?" she asks.

"Hmm, only Ramta and me… Marce joined us few years later. Didyme, whoever this is, he is a coward. How would you explain his behavior otherwise?"

"Aro thinks he's trying to collect as much information about as us as he can." She tries not to add the "_and I agree with him"_ part. No need to fuel the mass hysteria in the family.

"Your brother is the only one who has experience with the others," Ranthu explains, playing with her hair. Didyme is surprised, but then she remembers Aro's panicked behavior in Kemet.

"He met them before he traveled north?" she guesses.

"Yes, he told us there are many undead in your country, and that they are constantly fighting for domination and food resources. Ramta and I have seen the same thing during our travels in the Kingdom of Mahavira. But there is no other coven in Rasenna. Even if there were, it would still mean plenty of humans for two or three families. If this man has problems where he lives, he could easily move here. We can share!" She winks again, and this time Didyme cannot help but laugh. Her mood is already better, and Ranthu can sense it. She still talks about large resources they have here, but as Didyme's mood gets better and her aura breaks free, the others explanations change into endless bragging that even if someone comes for them, they will surely win any fight. No matter how many enemies they have and how experienced they are. The girl sights and tries to reduce the influence of her aura on her friend. After a few seconds, Ranthu starts making sense again.

"Did you talk with Ramta about me? I need to know when I have to leave." Didyme doesn't really want to talk about this right now, but she has to find out somehow and her friend is a reliable source.

" I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. Yes, of course, she was angry as hell, but that's just how Ramta is. She will scream at you and ask you to go and never come back, only to find you a few days later and say how sorry she is and beg you to come back. Before we met Marce, we would fight with each other every other day. Sometimes, we actually decided we couldn't stand living together, so we would go separate ways. Some time later, she would be back saying she missed me. So, don't worry. She is also not going to let Marce leave her coven. And he said he would go with you if she forced you to go away. He likes you, you know?"

She knows.

Aro finds Ramta sitting by the river and angrily throwing stones into the water. It almost makes him laugh. He has seen her angry, scheming and furious when fighting for her life. He has seen her wise and careful in the times of peace. He never thought she could be so vulnerable. It has been only ten days since Didyme revealed their position and nothing has happened . Actually, at the moment, he doubts anything is going to happen at all. All they have to do is to wait and be watchful for a little more time. It seems waiting doesn't come easily to Ramta.

"Marce told me you wanted to see me," he starts.

"Yes, thank you for coming so quickly," she smiles sadly. He notices her eyes are ruby. She must have just hunted. "Aro, you need to know I have a very bad feeling about our guest. I know you all think it is over, and, trust me, I will be the happiest person in the world if you are right… But something tells me we are in serious trouble. You've seen the big covens in Kemet, covens made of ten or fifteen undead? We won't win in such a battle, Aro. That's why I decided to spend some time patrolling the eastern shore. If I see others or come across their scent on the beach, I know the mountains well enough to still beat them on my way home. If they are small and none-dangerous, we will wait for them in Velathri. If there are many of them, we just need to get to the western shore and stay hidden in the water for some time, or we could just leave and find a different city. I don't want all of us slaughtered in a battle," she adds seconds later.

"It sounds like a very dangerous mission," Aro answers her slowly, like he was thinking about something else.

"I should probably send your sister; it's her fault, after all. Unfortunately, I believe we both know she wouldn't be much help. The second she sees danger, she will run here without even one glance behind her. You know her mind, Aro. If it comes to a battle, do you think she will be any help?"

"I doubt it." There is no point in lying to Ramta about it. "Didyme is not a fighter."

Ramta sights. "In this case, we will not include her in our defense plans. But I will need you, Aro. I don't know how long I will stay on the eastern shore. No more than thirty days. If they don't come by then, I doubt they will come at all. I will leave the coven to Marce for that time. You will help me to communicate with the others. Every third day, I will meet you where the man dove into the sea. If I'm not there, it means I'm either on my way back here with somebody chasing me, meaning you will have to get here as fast as you can and help me. It can also mean that I'm already dead. If you get to Velathri and I'm not with the others, you will need to lead my family. Go south. Maybe you could find an island not far from the mainland. Hunting would still be easy, but it would be much harder to find you. You should be safe."

He likes her idea. He is surprised, but he likes the idea of Ramta never coming back much more than he should. He still has to ask her something.

"Why not leave now? If you think the others are such a threat to us, we could just leave the city."

She gives him a very sad smile. "I was born here. I spend a lot of time traveling with Ranthu, but… Velathri is my place on Earth. I don't want to leave it."

" I understand. When are you going?" he asks. Ramta is slightly surprised how eager he sounds, and once again she tries to convince herself Aro's constant enthusiasm is the main reason she chose him. Marce may be able to protect the others, but he could never lead them. The mind-reader is a good choice. He won't stop to achieve his goals, the way Marce would. He will take what he wants. He won't hesitate. Should anything happen to her, Aro is everybody else's best chance of survival.

"In the evening," she smiles."I just need to change and talk to the others."

Ramta leaves at twilight. Her dress is slightly shorter than the ones she usually wears. She is also barefoot and her hair is tightly braided in a bun, to make running more comfortable. She is not very talkative at the moment. After reminding everybody their duties and saying quick goodbyes, she jumps over the wall and leaves.

A few days later, Didyme sits on the wall and watches butterflies. Ramta is still patrolling the shore, and Aro just came back from his trip to meet with her, but the tension is already fading. If somebody planned to attack them, he had enough time to do so. She reaches her hand out for a particularly beautiful insect; one with orange wings and black spots upon them. Most of the animals avoid immortals, but insects are usually drawn to them. Probably because of the smell, she thinks. The butterfly gently lands in her palm. It stays there for a second, probably wondering why a flower that smells so lovely is completely inedible and then takes off. She could catch it again, but she doesn't want to. It will live for one summer only; she doesn't want to steal its time. She, however, has all the time in the world, and nothing particular to kill it. She is still wondering how to entertain herself when Marce slowly lands behind her.

"How was you hunting trip?" she asks. Not that she cares, but she was taught to be polite.

"Good, thank you. I caught Aro's scent. Is he at home?"

She shrugs. There is no way he wouldn't be able to hear her brother from here. For God's sake, they can both hear Aro talking to Ranthu. They are both able to hear the vipers moving in the grass hundreds meters from them. She knows Marce is trying to be conversational with her, but the stupidity of his question makes her grind her teeth.

"Actually, I believe he is about three meters from the house." All right, he wants to play dumb, she will gladly do it. And beat him in the game, if necessary.

"Did Ramta see anything?" he tries again. Instead of answering, she looks into the orchard, concentrating on the talk that takes place there. Aro is just explaining that Ramta has found nothing yet and decided to stay for three more days and then return home. She smiles at Marce, raising her brow.

"Oh, of course I can hear them. I just thought you may know more." He is trying to end their talk and walk away with some dignity left, and Didyme realizes she didn't need to be that harsh.

"He didn't talk to me. I guess nobody is counting on me, if it came to a fight, so he doesn't bother to keep me informed." She makes it sound more angry that she actually wanted.

"If it comes to a fight, Ramta, Ranthu, Aro and I have enough experience to manage without you. You were never trained for a battle, and you've already lost your newborn strength. You will be sitting on a hill and cheering us."

She has to laugh at his idea.

"Yes, I can probably do that," she finally says.

"Here, I brought you something," he adds and her mood drops again. "I found it when I was hunting," he says, placing a pair of golden earrings in her palm. They still smell of blood of the person who wore them and one of them looks slightly broken.

"My ears aren't pierced" she says, before letting them fall to the ground.

Ramta runs along the beach. All her senses still search for any kind of danger, but her mind slowly starts to enjoy her surroundings. A slightly bigger wave rushes to the shore. Immediately, her brain shows her all possible options: she can run faster and outrace it, she can jump in any other direction to avoid being wet or she can let it wash her ankles. She keeps running with the same speed. The water is warm, almost as it was a pond, not a sea. The sand moves gently around her feet, carried back into the deep.

_She could live on a beach like this. _It almost hits her. Even if her worries come true and they lose Velathri… The city looks so different now than it did when she was born. And even thought protecting it was her choice, it was never her obligation; it was her dream from the day she joined the ranks of the immortals. Suddenly, her idea of moving the coven to one of the islands doesn't seem like an escape anymore. It would be so much safer for them, not to mention that their secret would be much better protected if they didn't spend so much time inside the walls. No one could see they're not aging. People wouldn't disappear; if Didyme won't learn not to hunt everything that smells sweet to her, she will simply not be allowed on the mainland. And Ramta will be able to visit her city every time she wishes to and still make sure its citizens stay unharmed. She smiles to herself. The water is up to her knees right now. She still enjoys running like this, but it slows her down. She jumps out of the water and keeps moving along the shore.

The wind blows towards land, so she can hear Aro before she can catch his scent. He came one day earlier, but this is perfect. They will both return home, pack the most important things, and leave Velathri after the sun sets. Perfect.

A few seconds later, he waves at her from the nearest hill. She grins at him.

"So, I guess you and Marce are already tired of running my coven. I told you it's harder than it looks like!" He would hear her even if she whispered the words, but she is content and feels like shouting.

Aro smiles back, but she knows him enough to immediately see something must be wrong. Panic hits her. She hasn't caught anybody's scent on the shore, but they could find another way to Velathri. If the other immortal lives on the mainland and he dove just to lose her friends, he could easily come back and lead others.

"Did they find you?" she asks, her body frozen from shock. She doesn't like sharing her mind with Aro, but she willingly gives him her hand when he approaches her. He doesn't say a word, so either her assumptions are completely wrong and he is startled, or the situation in Velathri looks very bad. She prays for the first.

"What happened?" she asks again, her perfect voice weak from fear.

"You decided we should leave." There are no emotions in his voice.

"Yes. Was I right? Did they find the city? Are Ranthu, Marce and Didyme all right?"

"They are perfectly fine, Ramta. You shouldn't worry. And, by the way, I can't speak for Marce, but I quite enjoy running your coven".

She smiles with relief.

"Unfortunately, as you probably already know, I'm going back. And I want my leadership," she laughs. He doesn't.

"Come, we need to get to the others. I don't want to spend more time than needed in Velathri. We can always come back in a few years…" She turns from him, ready to run back.

Aro catches her before her feet start moving. He lifts her from the ground with his one hand, trying to rip her head off. Ramta is a very skilled fighter, but she is too surprised to react. Even after she does, his ability to read her mind gives him too much advantage. She tries in vain to put her feet on the ground, to be able to break from his deadly embrace, or to kick him with enough strength to force him to let her go. A few seconds later, a funny feeling around her neck changes into discomfort and pain. Later, it just feels strange, when she realizes her head is no longer attached to her body. She can still watch her killer collect branches and start a fire. He doesn't even bother throwing her head in first .He lets her watch her body burn. Her legs were wet and covered with sea salt, so it takes more time than it normally would. She is actually glad when he throws her last remaining piece into the flames.

Aro stays on the shore for hours. Ramta's execution was part of his plan, but has never dreamt it would come to this so soon. He had hoped for a few more years; he was absolutely positive he would be able to find some promising humans and change them into absolute loyal undead. Didyme is a liability, and her gift holds no importance to him. If only he had more time.

Suddenly, his instincts tell him that something dangerous is moving very fast in his direction. He looks around, but the coast is completely abandoned. He can hear something is moving in the water, though. Not a fish - there is no heartbeat. Not an empty boat - it would be floating on the surface. He cannot think of any human invention able to reach that speed. Whoever approaches him, must be an immortal. And he isn't coming alone. Now, when the danger is nearing, he can hear eighteen pairs of arms cutting water. Eighteen undead! It must be the coven Ramta was afraid of.

There is no time to hide his former leader's ashes. He wonders if he could hide his presence, but it is probably too late for that. If he starts running, they will just have a perfect trail to follow. If he doesn't lead them straight to Velathri, they will probably catch him and kill him. Also, he cannot dive. They can already hear him. They wouldn't be able to follow his scent in the water, but he would have to break through their circle first and doesn't want to push his luck. The city seems to be his best chance. He has never seen any information about dealing with such a big army in Rathu or Marce's minds, but he hopes they will figure something out.

Velathri lies on a hill and has fortifications, which makes it very easy to protect, if you are a human and the invading army consists of other human beings. If you are an immortal and your enemies happen to be undead who outnumber you, there isn't much to do to keep them from entering. A few minutes after Aro enters the city, eighteen pair of legs start slowly climbing the hill. They move too fast for the humans to notice them. Fifteen of them jump over the city walls with grace of strange, furious wild cats, avoiding only the place where they expect to find their opponents' houses. They walk through the city. Some of them slowly, in the shadows, smiling and greeting humans around them; others much faster, on the roofs. Three circle around the wall, listening for any signs that their opponents may try to escape.

It is too late to try to leave the city or even send Didyme away so she wouldn't be part of the battle. Ranthu, Marce and Aro with his sister gather on the little lawn before the biggest house and wait. They can feel a little rustle in the air, when the three undead from the other side of the wall decide to join them. Soon, they can hear the main group entering the orchard. Didyme gasps. Now, when they are so close, she can easily distinguish their footsteps. The one in the front seems strangely familiar. His steps are somehow heavier than the others. His breath sounds slightly different, as if he's trying not to burst out laughing. It reminds her of the strange panting she once heard from the other side of the wall.

"It was you… You followed me!" She tries to make it into an accusation, but it still sounds weak and frightened. She is also not sure if the other understands Etruscan.

"Indeed, my little princess from Kemet," he grins, and Didyme gasps again at the sound of her native language. "I didn't mean to scare you before. But you see, you live on my land now. I thought it would be good to introduce myself. My name is Vlad. You should also meet my friend Zia." He points his finger at a tiny blonde woman standing close to him. "Now, Zia is a strange little creature. When I came home almost a month ago, I was planning to pay you a visit right away. However, she told me it wouldn't be wise. She said your little coven may try to fight me… But she also said that if I wait for three weeks, your family would be much weaker. If Zia was a regular member of my army, she would be dead after making such a suggestion. But, you see, my perfect little Zia can see the future."

"Where is Ramta?" Rathu whispers to Aro, trying to look interested in Vlad's speech at the same time.

"I saw a pile on the beach," he answers even quieter, avoiding her eyes.

Vlad gives them an angry look, but the obvious lack of interest isn't enough to stop him.

"So, I did as she told me. I waited. Three weeks later, here I come and who do I find? Four young immortals, who have no idea this territory has been claimed…"

"I'm sorry, but the three…Two of us were born on this land. One of us…" Ranthu pauses, the memory of Ramta is too painful, "…even in this city two hundred years ago. You haven't been here since then. We may leave, if you want, but I believe we live far enough from your hunting range," she adds, her voice suddenly stronger.

"Oh, of course my little one. Obviously, we don't need this land to hunt. You see, we live on the other side of the eastern sea. But, when I saw people from the country of Kemet in your group, I was positive you would know about alliances…"

"Alliances?" Didyme gives him a surprised look.

"Yes, I assumed it was a reason why you left your former country." Vlad gives her a strange, reassuring smile, but she doesn't trust it.

"You… own…this territory?" Aro asks gently. Didyme looks at her brother and notices that though she has no idea what is happening around them, her brother looks like he is facing his worst nightmare. She fishes for her gift, but it doesn't come easily to her when she is anxious.

"Exactly. The whole North Continent belongs to me and my brothers. This is why I came here. To ask you to leave… Or to recognize me as your master. Who is the leader of this coven?"

"The woman on the beach," Aro answers quickly, hoping the other won't ask him for details.

"Wonderful," Vlad grins like finding the dead body on the shore was the best thing that could happen to him. " I hoped it wouldn't come to a fight today. I'll be your leader from this day on. But, you see, Rasenna was never one of my favorite countries. Too sunny and too warm." Didyme gives him a strange look, wondering how his preferred location looks like.

"I prefer Dacia. The forest, the mountains, the snow in winter. Have you ever seen snow, my little princess?" He winks at her.

"No," she says abruptly. Immediately, his good mood is gone, and he bares his teeth at her. "No, I haven't seen it…master," she adds. _And I surely hope I never will._

"Good," he smiles again. "I assume you won't be a problem. As I said, I know you already love me," he ignores Ranthu's angry scowl, " but I won't be able to reside here permanently. Not that I won't visit you often, or send one of my brothers; they will be delighted to come. But since I won't be present here all of the time, I believe I should give you a liege here." He looks at the four faces in front of him. "Or, I could give you two co-leaders," he points at Aro and Marce with his long, skinny finger. Didyme wonders if Ranthu will finally loose it and bite it off. She is on the edge of doing it herself, but she values her life too much to end it today. Unfortunately, Ranthu is too busy starring at the ground to notice anything else at the moment.

"As you wish, master," Aro answers slowly. The lack of sadness in his voice makes Didyme wonder if he is already thinking about using this situation for his own sake. She can hardly find anything good in it, but something tells her Vlad made a very big mistake humiliating her brother and leaving him alive after. Aro will have his vengeance. Not today, probably not tomorrow, maybe not even in a few centuries, but this stranger will have his power taken from him. And on that day, she will gladly help her brother. If only, he won't make her fight with eighteen opponents at once, of course. The power of her gift comes naturally to her at this moment, and she immediately uses it on Vlad and his little army. This man should leave with only pleasant memories. It will stop him from worrying and visiting them too often. She smiles at him with the most perfect, genuine smile, thinking about the day he will meet his death.

"And you?" Vlad gives Marce a challenging look. Didyme immediately sees the situation doesn't look good. Marce stares at the Dacian with his teeth barred and fire in his eyes. He doesn't look like a man who is going to surrender. He looks like somebody ready to die in the fight.

"Please, don't," she mouths, afraid that the others would be able to hear even a whisper. "I don't want to die."

That stops him. After a few seconds, Marce's gaze wanders to the ground.

"I accept your offer, master" he says. Unlike Aro, he sounds really defeated.

"Perfect," Vlad is delighted, and Didyme wonders if she hasn't overused her power. If he starts dancing in front of his group, they may notice that he is being manipulated. She slowly tries to cut down the power of her aura.

"I'm so glad we made such a lovely compromise. I hate being forced to tearing apart and burning. My wonderful Zia was right again!" He continues, and Didyme sights. She only hopes Marce or Aro would catch her if she lost it and went for his throat. Any comment about Vlad, "his little, perfect Zia" or one pointed finger would be enough to make her attack.

"All right, I believe it is time for us to go." Vlad seems to finally sense that the attitude towards him is getting more hostile with every single second. His army starts moving slowly toward the city wall, and he follows them. He jumps upon the fortification, turns to the little Velathri coven, and smiles.

"I was wondering, if any of the ladies would like to travel with me? As a little proof of good will," he grins, looking at Didyme again. She doesn't bother to conceal her feelings; she just stares at him with her eyes wide open.

"Do we have to decide now?" asks Aro. His sister gives him a furious look, not able to understand how he can even consider such a possibility. Marce growls. Vlad's people are already on the other side of the wall, but Didyme can hear them stopping at once at the sound.

"We want to spend a few hours hunting. We will leave tomorrow at dawn. Send one of the girls to the shore. We will take her when we leave." He winks, this time at Ranthu, and jumps to the other side of the wall.


	5. Wedding

**All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**I would like to thank my beta, I-kno-you-want me for doing a wonderful job once again. **

**Guys, here comes chapter five. I know I promised to send it in July, sorry, I couldn't concentrate on my writing, maybe because of the heat. And maybe because I'm usually very lazy in the summer. Please, let me know what you think about this story. Review. Even if you don't like it, just let me know you have read it.**

5. Wedding

A few seconds after the Dacians leave, the real hell breaks loose. Ranthu gets hysterical over Ramta's death and begs Aro for any possible information about it; Marce is furious with Aro for not even trying to lose their opponents along the way to give them more time to escape, and for agreeing to their wishes instead of leaving when they had the chance; Didyme sits on the ground and sobs, begging her brother not to send her away with Vlad and his army. Aro tries to explain himself, but he hardly gets the chance to do it properly. Before he can answer one question, his friends already have ten new ones.

Soon, he doesn't even bother to answer; he just waits for everybody to cool down. They can discuss the fate of their family the next day. There is only one person he has to talk to right now, and he knows it's not going to be easy. He has seen enough of her mind enough times to know self-sacrifice is an alien thought for her and not something she would choose willingly to save the others. Unfortunately, Didyme is the only person they can give up on right now without completely destroying the whole coven.

"Sister?" he asks gently. "We need to talk."

She gives him a very frightened look before she stands up. He is grateful for her not throwing a tantrum, like he expected her to do. She must be in shock, which is good for him. It may make their discussion easier. He smiles encouragingly at her and starts walking to the biggest house. She follows him like a lifeless doll, all her grace gone. From the corner of his eye, he can see Marce's angry scowl. He has to admit, the decision might complicate things. He will need to talk to his new co-leader just after he finishes with his sister.

He tries to lead her to the main room of the house, but she ignores him. Instead, she walks into her room, sits on the bed and begins to stroke her stone tiger, refusing even to look at her brother. If she was still a human, she would be crying, but now her face is perfectly dry. Only the tension in her jaw muscles tells him how anxious she is.

"I don't want you to leave, Didyme," he starts.

"Than don't make me."

"You know I have no choice."

"Ranthu?"

"I need her here. Now, with Ramta gone, she is our most experienced fighter. You need to understand, sister, nothing would please me more than keeping you at home, with me. But I am responsible for the whole family right now. If we get attacked and Ranthu isn't here, we will be dead. Unless you have some skills I don't know of."

She goes back to staring at the ground.

" You won't be gone for forever. Even Vlad wouldn't be so stupid to keep a hostile immortal on his court for long. I assume in a month you will be free to go wherever you want to. And I promise we will always wait for you."

"We could run…"

"Didyme, did any of those men look thirsty to you? I highly doubt the hunting story. I believe they are somewhere near, watching us, right now.

She presses her face tighter into the stone toy.

"You know why he wants me there," she simply says.

"I know." He wishes he could see her thoughts right now, but it's impossible. She could attack him if he even tried to stroke her hair. That's why he can only hope his next words will make the situation look better instead of simply offending her. "Didyme, this man probably takes one woman from every coven he conquers. He will be bored and send you back home soon. I doubt you will have to spend more than one night with him."

It doesn't make her angry; it makes her sob. But it also makes her give up. He is sure she won't try to fight him anymore, so he sits beside her, holding Didyme and stroking her hair. Her thoughts tell him about the fear, hate and agony she feels.

Soon Aro has to break the skin contact between them. He knows that apart from her true feeling she is using his ability to read her mind to make him feel more guilty than he already does and he is unable to listen to her thoughts for even a second longer.

"Don't take too much with you. His lovely friend Zia is about your size," he reminds her, before leaving. He stops by his room, takes his tabenna, and goes out of the house. He doesn't like the idea of staying in the city during the day, but it is better then watching his sister cry. Aro wonders if the Dacians will ever let her come back. He hopes they will. He wishes he could believe everything he has told her.

Didyme waits till she can no longer hear her brother's footsteps. She wishes she could put off the packing even longer and just sit there staring at the wall, but she would probably be forced to go without any of her possessions. She looks at the few things that belong to her and ponders what to take. Her tiger! She has to take it with her! She cannot leave it… Then she remembers the sadistic look in Vlad's eyes. The toy is made of stone; it would be so easy for an undead to destroy it.

"You will stay here. I will come back to you, I promise," she sobs, putting it on the bed. Leaving other things comes even easier. She cannot take her journals - Aro would be angry for revealing their family secrets. There is no point in taking sandals - she would lose them while swimming. She doesn't want to take her favorite dresses - they may be destroyed by the seawater, and she doubts she will have need for any of them in Dacia. If she got Vlad's intentions correctly, she won't be wearing anything fancy when they get there. She probably won't be wearing anything at all. She only takes one dress, yellow with a blue pattern.

Didyme looks around her room for the last time before leaving and wishes she had treated it more like home. She always waited for the day when she would be able to leave it and go south to find Net. She leaves it now, but it doesn't make her happy. It is small, dark, too warm in the summer and very cold in the winter, but it was a good place to live in. So was Rasenna. The tiny girl goes out of the house just in time to see the sun set.

She wonders if she should go immediately or wait for her brother to return, when she sees Marce waiting by the biggest lemon tree. Talking to him is the last thing she wants at the moment, but it seems unavoidable. He stares at her with like he is going to confess to murdering her whole family and beg for forgiveness. It makes her slightly uneasy. She sighs before facing him.

"What do you want?" It sounds harsher than she planned, and she can see the hurt look on his face. It doesn't make her sorry. "Have you seen Aro? I don't know the way to the eastern shore."

"I think I could help if you want to stay." He stares at the ground.

"How?" Didyme tries not to hope before she hears what he has to say, but she is sure he can feel her desperation.

"Vlad must know how strong the bonds between immortal mates are. If we tell Aro we are together, he will have to send Ranthu instead of you."

"You seem to forget my brothers gift."

"No, I don't. Aro can read your mind, but I can sense the bonds between people. It is his word against mine. I also doubt he will want to have this conversation on the shore with Vlad listening. We will tell him we are mates and that I won't let you go, and he has to send Ranthu. She is not mated. Nobody will fight for her."

Didyme feels guilty for betraying her friend that way, but the fear is stronger.

"So, you're asking me to act as your mate until this whole situation is solved?" She asks.

"I'm asking you to marry me."

She just survived the invasion and was almost given away as hostage, but his revelation is enough to make her gasp. She is almost ready to shout "_No!"_, but something stops her. Didyme doesn't love Marce, and he knows that…but he is still ready to save her. It's not enough for her to make her love him back. However, it's enough to make her feel some respect.

"For now," he continues. "If you ever fall in love with somebody, I promise you I will set you free on the same day."

She still struggles to tell him no, but simply cannot say the word.

"I'm not ready," she says instead.

"I know. I would never force you if there was any other way, but Aro is your brother and he has already decided your fate. If I were your husband, I could stop him. But right now, I'm not your family member, and I can't do anything to help you."

"If I agree, does it mean we will have to…" she swallows before finishing, "do the things husband and wive are supposed to do?"

"I would never force you to do something you don't want," he promises, but she can sense the is a large _but_ coming. "However, I am not sure if your brother wouldn't use the fact that we never… spend a night together to call our secret marriage a fake. You also need to prepare that Ranthu will be looking for any possible reasons to not to go instead of you. She will surely ask Aro if we are truly together."

"I'm not ready." Her voice sounds weak and scared, the feelings she never wanted to show, especially to him.

"I know. I promise you that after Ranthu leaves, I will never touch you again," he promises.

"Do we have to do it… right now?" she whispers.

"I promise I won't hurt you, Didyme," he says, taking two golden wedding bands out. They look slightly better than the regular jewelry he had acquired for her before. Maybe he had them made instead of taking them from some young lovers he hunted. Still, she hates bijou. She doesn't love Marce, and she's not ready to do what she has to do to stay in Rasenna. She can hear some strange noise, something between sobs and laughter, and is surprised that she is probably the one emitting the sound. She wonders if she should run. Would Vlad find her? Would Aro try to chase her? If she starts running right now, could she get to island? To Net? However, even though her mind is racing, her body is frozen. For the first time since Aro changed her into an immortal, she actually feels like a stone. She allows Marce to put the wedding band on her finger. It is slightly too small and she hopes it will break. It doesn't. It just stays on her finger, burning harder than the venom.

Didyme stays frozen for the next hour. She allows him to take her to his house, repeats the marriage vows without hesitation and lets him lead her to his bedroom. She tries not to think about what happens next. Instead, she lets her mind wander to the little scratches in the ceiling, the scent of the lemon trees and summer flowers, and to the sound of flies buzzing in the muggy air. She wonders if there are spiders in the house; there is a large cobweb connecting the ceiling and one of the walls, but she cannot hear or see any insects.

The numbness slowly leaves her body, allowing her to feel again. She can see Marce's pained expression and is surprised to see he looks like he wants this thing to end even more than she does. She knows he is talking to her, but she just doesn't want to hear any words of love at this moment. Instead, she tries to concentrate on the pain, but it fades too quickly. What's left is only a strange, wet sensation somewhere deep inside her. It's an indifferent feeling, far from pain and far from pleasure. Her mind leaves her body once again, but this time the white stone ceiling doesn't offer her any comfort. She realizes that Aro won't just let her stay and send Ranthu. It was foolish even to think her brother will stop on his way to achieve his goals. He won't. He will still force her to go. The only person who can oppose him is her newly wed husband. _Husband!_ She ignores how wrong it sounds. Marce will try to protect her. He's already promised her that, and she has no reason not to trust him. Which means it will come to a fight. Aro will kill Marce, if he thinks it's necessary. Marce will hesitate to kill Aro, seeing the bond between Didyme and her brother. Still, Marce will be fighting for her freedom, and he knows what will happen to her if he loses. Only a few days ago, she talked about cheering her family on. Now she tries not think about who she is going to cheer for if her husband and her brother fight till the death.

Some time later, Marce passes her back her yellow dress and she puts it on immediately. Being dressed again feels good. When Didyme closes her eyes, she can almost believe today is just a regular day, and nothing life-changing has happened. Some remains of Marce's scent on her skin almost ruin that feeling, so she stops breathing. She just sits in the little house waiting for her brother to come back and for her fate to be decided.

Aro comes back home around midnight. She can hear him nearing the house he left her in and catching the fresh trail she left when she followed her new husband.

"Come, we need to talk to him," Marce helps her up, as if she is a weak human.

"I can't…" she starts.

""Leave the talking to me, then."

She follows him to the little lawn in front of the house. Her brother is already there. Didyme hides her left hand behind her back. She wishes she could already take the ring off already. Wearing it seems absolutely wrong.

Aro notices them leaving the house and grins. She tries to smile back, but her face muscles refuse to cooperate. Maybe her body is too tired of being pushed to do things her mind didn't even want to hear about. Didyme catches her brother's gaze and wonders if his face is able to show any emotion. They have just lost their friend and their freedom – even her gift isn't enough to make her feel happy. How can he smile so genuine? The wind blows in their direction, and Didyme tries to enjoy every second she has before Aro finds out about her secret marriage.

"Ready to go, sister?" He sounds at ease, almost like he is taking her hunting or on a short sight-seeing trip.

"She stays here, Aro", Marce's voice is deep, and Didyme has to admit that he can sound authoritative.

Her brother looks at them startled. She doesn't want to explain anything, so she just shows him her left palm. The ring seems to weigh a ton now.

"Will you show me what you mean?" He doesn't sound angry, but there is something acidic in his voice. She nods weakly. A few seconds later, he is standing in front of her and gently touches her hand. Didyme closes her eyes, wishing he wouldn't be able to see what happened that night. Aro drops her hand very quickly, which means he probably didn't like what he had seen in her mind either.

"I should have known… Leaving you here alone wasn't a good idea… Give me that ring, Didyme."

"I don't want to." Didyme's voice sounds dreamy.

"Sadly, dearest, if you don't go, I will have to send your best friend. Do you want to do this to Ranthu, sister?"

A deep growl starts somewhere in Marce's chest, but Aro ignores it.

"Yes," she sobs. "I'm sorry, Aro. I can't go with them. I'm too afraid to go. Please don't tell Ranthu I made her go," she adds in a whisper.

"I'm afraid that's out of the question, my dear. I can't hide something like this from her."

Didyme disappears behind Marce only to answer him in a whisper. "All right, then. Tell her."

"Are you aware she is not in love with you?" Aro sees his earlier strategy has failed and directs his question to Marce.

"I know that," the tall immortal answers simply, as if he doesn't care.

"You know we don't stand a chance in a fight without Ranthu?'

"I didn't know you were so eager to fight, Aro. Well, Ranthu was here six hours ago. I cannot see how you used her to change our situation. Your sister stays here, under my protection, as long as she wishes."

"How can you two be so disloyal to your coven member?"

Marce hisses something about a brother being disloyal to his own sister, and Aro is fully aware that he has lost this fight. He should never ignore Marce's feelings for Didyme. He should keep in mind how weak and selfish his sister is. He was sure she would never choose Marce willingly; he never thought she would agree to be with him out of fear. Watching Ranthu leave may be enough to make Didyme bad for betraying her friend, but it won't change her mind. He has lost another battle today.

"Fine. I hope you will enjoy your married life, sister. You've got a husband that you always wanted and the ability to stay in Rasenna forever. You can leave the main house and live in this cottage," he points at a much smaller house that belongs to Marce. "I believe you got what you always wanted" he hisses, before leaving.

"You are free to go, when you're in no longer need of me," Marce gently pats her hand. "And I will travel with you, if that's what you want."

Didyme nods weakly. There are eighteen bloodthirsty undead circling the city, and her furious brother and betrayed best friend inside. She wishes she could dig a hole in the ground and just lie there, sobbing for hours. Or if she could somehow erase what happened during the last few weeks and go back to the times when her biggest concern was who she was going to hunt in the evening.

"Do you think I should take the rest of my garments now?" The sound of her voice surprises her, she sounds like a three year old girl.

"Give Aro some privacy now. We will take those things tomorrow."

"What if he destroys the tiger?"

Marce almost laughs at the question, but right now the bond she has with her stone toy is stronger than what's left from all the other ones. Her relationship with Aro is now almost only fear, with little love remaining. Her love for her older sister is still there, but as the memories become dim, the bond is weakening; the bond with her father disappeared, as if she accepted that he is probably dead or no longer part of her life. Her feelings for Ranthu changed into fear and guilt, and the bond that links Didyme to Marce consists of all possible feelings – care, anger, fear, respect, hate and admiration. Only few weeks ago, she liked him, not enough to be happy when he tried to court her but still enough to feel good in his presence. The only thing that can make her feel better now is her toy. He doesn't like the idea of trying to sneak to Aro's house right after their confrontation, but it seems unavoidable.

"Wait for me inside. I will go get the tiger," he promises.

She smiles at him, gently and weakly, but he can see in their bond that she is grateful. He wonders if she would allow him to kiss her forehead right now, but decides not to try. Today is probably one of the hardest in her whole life; there is no need to add anything that could possibly make her feel worse. Instead, he watches her till she disappears inside the house.

After he is sure she is safe, he concentrates on finding Aro. He can hear the other breathing inside the house. Probably in the atrium. This is good; there is no chance Aro won't hear him inside the house, but if their paths won't cross, he may choose to just ignore his new brother-in-law.

He enters former Didyme's former room like a ghost. She's left almost everything; the tiger lies on the bed, her journals under it, on her sandals; her dresses and some ribbons are on the chair. A lyre lies in the corner, as if someone tossed it there. Still, it is undamaged, so he decides to take it as well. He didn't bring anything to pack these things, so he wraps them in one of Didyme's dresses. It's thicker than the others; probably something that Ranthu made for her to wear in winter, to avoid humans being suspicious that she isn't freezing like them. He is almost finished with the packing, when he hears Aro standing up and moving in his direction. He places the tiger inside the provisional bag and turns to see his opponent. Aro is standing in the door frame, his head slightly cocked right, his eyes seeming to pierce him.

"It wasn't very wise to come here… brother," he says with his strange, feathery voice. Which is bad. It means his brutal fury has already disappeared. Aro was astonished when he heard the news a few minutes earlier. He's enough time to think things through now.

"I thought you could use a spare room, Aro, and Didyme needs her clothes."

Aro nods like his sister name didn't even seem familiar.

"I believe we need to talk. You see, I'm not happy with Vlad's visit and the co-leaders thing, but still… Ramta is gone, Marce. Things have changed. We may be equals… but you see, when you took my sister from me, you did so behind my back. And I won't have you or anyone else hiding things from me. You think Didyme is your mate, fine. Take her. But the next time you try taking something from me without my knowledge or approval, you will pay. I promise you that."

Marce looks him straight in the eyes. It would be a sign a honesty if they were both humans or a challenge, if they were animal predators. They are both immortal. The air seems to buzz like in the middle of the storm.

Marce is the first to move. He walks to the door, forcing Aro to take a step back. He is almost out of the house, when Aro gently catches his hand. It isn't unusual; the other does it all time, not even bothering to ask if he can read someone's thoughts. He allows that touch. Hopefully, Aro will see only the love for his sister, and that Marce just couldn't do anything else. He couldn't let Vlad take her and hurt her. He couldn't watch her sobbing and frightened and do nothing. Didyme may not feel the same, but Marce already found his mate, and immortals mate forever. Even if she doesn't fall for him, he will love her till the day he dies. Or for eternity, if that day never comes.

Suddenly, Aro's grip on his palm becomes stronger, almost painful. Before he can protect himself, the other breaks his wrist and throws his hand out of the house.

"If you want to be her dog, so be it," Aro grins through his teeth. "Bring back!" he adds with a wicked smile.

Marce could probably still win without his left hand, but he has a feeling Didyme might be watching them; he doesn't want to kill her brother in front of her. He sighs, slowly leaves the house and licks the limb before placing it back on his wrist. It stings and hurts slightly when it is reattaching.

Didyme looks very concerned, which means he was probably right – she's seen the whole situation.

"Are you in pain?" Her voice sounds uncertain, as if she is unsure what emotions she should feel behind those words.

"It will pass," he smiles.

She nods.

"I have your tiger," he says. Her mood immediately changes. She takes the pack from him and starts digging inside. A few seconds later, she is hugging her toy. She is happy; he can sense it. She is standing in front of him, with the little tiger in her arms, talking to it as if it was a living creature. At this moment, she looks so young, so happy and so innocent that he feels guilty for what he made her do. Aro changed his sister when she was fifteen. She will never get any older or more mature. If that toy is what she really needs, she can have it. He will also travel with her, if that's what she wishes. And that's it. Didyme doesn't need a husband. She needs a protector. It is not the part he wants to play in her life, but if that's what she needs him to be, he will become one. For her.

Didyme doesn't notice his mood change; she is too busy talking to her toy. He gently touches her hair, trying to get her attention and not to scare her at the same time.

"Take the bedroom. I know it is smaller than your former room, but I never cared for grand houses the way your brother does. Anyway, I'll try not to spend too much time here, so you can use this room as well. I'll just place my things in the corner. I could also make a little garden for you in the back. I know how you love reading and playing in the sun. Don't worry; I'll take care of the garden. I just want you to enjoy it," he adds.

"All right," she smiles, already running to unpack her things.

Soon, the tiger gets the honorable place on the little table, all her garments are thrown on the chair, except for one dress she hangs in the door frame to have some privacy, and she is sitting on the bed, with her legs crossed, checking if Marce got all her journals. She doesn't feel like writing about what has happen to her family yet. Today has probably been the worst day of her life, and she wishes for some time to spend alone. Unfortunately, it isn't going to happen; she can still hear Marce in the other room. She sighs and starts unbraiding her hair. It usually helps her relax, but not today. She has her instruments, but playing them doesn't seem polite with the other just behind the door. She could read, but she doubts she could concentrate enough to do so.

Or she could find out what Marce is doing. It seems like a fairly good idea now, that they live together, as …husband and wife. It sounds icky. Didyme stops breathing and slowly walks to her hand-made curtain. She raises it gently, trying not to make any sounds. Marce is sitting on the chair, staring at the wall in front of him. He looks broken, and somehow, seeing him like this hurts her.

Didyme never wondered how her dream husband would look like. She always assumed it was going to be like with Net and Mshai; that one day, a beautiful boy her age, possibly a son of another priest, would visit Nebit, and they would fall in love at once, the way her sister and her lover did. Seeing Marce for the first time didn't change anything in her. She hardly noticed him at all. And still… He is so much older than she is, but since they're both not going be aging, it will never be a problem. He is not particularly handsome, but she likes his features. He is ready to die for her. Suddenly the moment when she stopped him from confronting Vlad flashes before her eyes. When she said, that she didn't want to die, she mainly worried that the Dacians army would annihilate them the second they attacked. Now she can see another reason for her action. If Vlad's army killed Ranthu or even Aro, she would mourn them for years. Still, after a decade or so, she could probably live her life again. If they tried to kill Marce… Didyme has no idea if she would be brave enough to sacrifice her life for him or die with him. She only knows that if he was killed, there would be no way she could go back to who she is now. Her aura would be gone forever. The beautiful island somewhere in the south would never be a real home if she went there alone. Somewhere, deep down in her heart, she can feel her feelings changing. What she feels now is not the overwhelming, strong love people talk about. But if it possible to love someone for a little bit, that must be what she feels.

Suddenly, the memory of Marce sitting in the main room doesn't seem like something she can ignore anymore. She has to go in there. Didyme is glad that his gift will tell him what has happened; she doesn't want to talk about her feelings right now. Instead, she wonders how to show him that he is welcomed in the bedroom. Her Kemet clothes are much more revealing than what she is wearing now, but she usually wore them at home. He won't understand them as an invitation. He will probably think she just feels at ease in his - their home.

She starts to braid her hair again when she sees the possibility. Her hair reaches her ankles, when loose. It is black and very thick, so it will cover almost all her body. There is no way she could go to the other room naked. But going there almost completely covered with her hair? It should give him the right idea.

Soon, her dress is lying on the floor and she tries to brush her hair to cover her body like a cape. It is harder than she thought and doesn't look pretty at all, but she has no better ideas and doesn't want to spend more time worrying about what to do. Slowly, she removes the curtain and walks into the main room.

Marce is still sitting in his chair, only, when he hears her enter, his expression changes from the pained look she has seen before to completely neutral. He is still gazing at the wall, trying to give her all the privacy she needs. It doesn't make things easier for her.

"Husband…" She starts. It sounds weaker than she wanted.

That immediately catches his attention.

"Do you need anything?" He asks, turning to her. His expression changes when he sees her. At that moment, she wishes to share his gift or be able to read minds like her brother. Marce stares at her, and she has no idea if what she sees on his face is the sign of surprise, shock or rejection. Leaving her hair loose seems like a very bad idea now, because it only made her shorter. She should've worn some clothes. Then, he wouldn't be able to see how skinny she is. Didyme stops breathing, hoping doing so will make her waist look narrower than it really is. She is almost ready to run back to the bedroom, when he gently catches her.

"You look very beautiful, Didyme. Never doubt that."

She kisses him gently. "Come with me. I don't want to spend my wedding night alone."

Didyme will never forget the smile on his face, when he carries her to bed that night.

A few hours later Marce has to leave, to tell Ranthu she is chosen to go. He doesn't ask her to join him and she is very grateful for it. Explaining herself and the reasons she had to stay here would probably not be enough to make her friend forgive her. Ever. She sighs, playing with the messy braid Marce helped her make when they got tired of having her hair all around them. It may be cowardly, but she is so glad she cannot see her former friend leaving the city.

**As you can probably imagine, this chapter was much more difficult to write than the others. Not only because of the romantic story, but because I have to "read" Didyme's mind. I don't know if you will like her, or not. She is a complicated character. I started to think about her personality when I was still planning this story. I tried to imagine her acting different. In my mind, Didyme always is a sweet, but also a weak character. She wouldn't risk her life for somebody, the way Bella was ready to die for Edward and Renesmee. She wouln't fight for her life, the way Katniss does. She wouldn't travel alone like Kelsey. She is lazy, afraid of many things and completely dependent on people around her. Probably not the best 21st century heroine. But this is how I always pictured her. **

**I'm on vacations right now, and the next chapter will probably be ready in late September/ early October.**

**Bye!**


	6. Snow and Blood

**All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**I want to thank my beta, I-kno-you-want-me, for doing an excellent job…once again!**

**Guys, this is chapter six. It's slightly shorter than the other ones. Please, let me know what you think about it. **

6. Snow and blood

Three years pass, but Ranthu never comes back. At first, they talk about it all the time, worried that she could have been hurt or killed. Slowly, the topic disappears from their conversations. Soon the death of Ramta and the disappearance of Ranthu, the two original members of the Velathri coven, become only a painful memory.

The following winter is much colder than those before it, and the wind from the northern countries brings snow storms to Rasenna. Soon, the whole country is covered with giant piles of the frozen water. Aro is far from happy, digging his way out of the house. His sister, who had claimed to hate anything that is cold, loves the new toy that the nature has given her. He still hasn't forgiven her for betraying him, but Vlad's people have yet to come back; there was no need for a real fighter. And it is so good to have Didyme around.

Marce goes to the city, and his wife spends her time in the garden, carefully sculpting a giant snowball.

"What exactly are you doing?" Aro asks after she gives up and smashes it against the wall.

"Trying to make a snow-watermelon," she answers him with her sweet, lovely smile.

He sighs. His sister has always possessed some artistic skills, even in her human life. Unfortunately, it seems that her new gift deprived her of any ambition she ever had. Didyme is absolutely content with her life. She might have some dreams or plans for the future, but in general, she is too happy in the present moment to try to achieve anything.

"Do you know where your husband has gone?"

She grins. Three years ago, on the day that the Dacians paid them a visit, he was sure her marriage with Marce would be a short term one; he was wrong. Didyme almost immediately fell in love and the couple seems to be very happy together… even though his sister took off her wedding band the next day after her wedding day. Because wedding bands are bijou; Didyme hates bijou, and Marce would do anything to keep his wife content.

"He went to visit the carpenter. I need a bench. It will look so lovely in the garden," she answers, and her voice sounds dreamy. "Do you know I turned twenty just a few days ago?"

"You will never be twenty, sister. That's the beauty of being an immortal - you will always stay fifteen." The words sound harsher than he intended. Still, it's not enough to ruin her mood.

"Almost sixteen," she laughs and throws a large snowball at him.

"You're fifteen and three months old!"

"Now, that is almost sixteen!"

She is not going to give up, and he hates playing games with her.

"Fine," he mumbles. "I wonder if you will be equally happy on the day you turn fifty…"

"Of course. I'm not aging."

"If that's the case, why bother celebrating birthdays?"

"Because I want to!" she snarls, turning away from him and running back to the house. She stops breathing once she is inside, because he cannon longer hear her. Which is absolutely fine with him. He is still glad he decided to change her, because her presence makes their life much happier; however even being able to read her mind, he doubts he will ever be able to fully understand his sister.

He picks up the remains of the former snow-watermelon. A few minutes later he leaves a perfectly sculpted figure of a hero on her doorstep.

Marce returns soon after their conversation is over. He carries a long, simple bench with two wooden wildcats on the back of it – obviously, something that is going to please his wife. It seems that the era of failed gifts is over. However, instead of immediately going to see Didyme, he leaves the bench in the garden and walks to Aro's house.

It is not something unexpected, since both are the heads of the coven, but still; such visits are rare. Aro made it clear three years ago that he didn't want to see the couple in his house, and even though he didn't care about it too much anymore, they usually kept some distance from his place. He moves swiftly to welcome the other by the entrance.

"We might have a problem." Marce gives Aro his hand, so he can hear a conversation the other has overheard in the city. It seems people of Velathri are afraid of a young man from Caisra, whose army has already conquered Tarchna and Vetluna, though those weren't exactly clear conquers. This man is known for chaining rotting corpses to living people to let them die from diseases, and burning every town and village on his way north, if they don't agree to support his army. He is probably a large threat for the citizens of Velathri, but Aro fails to see how his presence may be dangerous to the undead. Even if the whole city is on fire, they will have enough time to escape.

"If we aren't here and the lemon trees catch fire, it will take only seconds before the houses start burning. If Didyme were to be here alone, she might try to save something – her tiger, one of the scrolls, or some of her dresses. She may not have any time left to escape after."

This is highly unlikely; Marce is always concerned about his wife's safety, so Aro ignores his words. This man is absolutely no danger to them. However, he is a threat to every human in Rasenna. He is wild and dangerous, experienced with leading an army. If the small town of Caisra can conquer much bigger cities in the north, maybe a small coven from Velathri would be able to win with much larger and more experienced Dacians? Surely, this man would be very difficult to cope with during his newborn year, but maybe it would be worth it.

"I'll deal with it," he promises Marce.

A few minutes later, Aro leaves his house, while the other is busy giving his wife her birthday gift. He doubts they will notice his disappearance, but, even if they do, they are likely not to be concerned about it. He's always liked sight-seeing while he hunted, so his trips were usually longer then his coven mates'.

The snow is wet and light, almost on the edge of melting. This is bad; leaving a trail will be unavoidable that way. He doesn't like the idea of Marce being able to follow him to Caisra if need be, but this is the risk he has to take. Whoever this great warrior is, he is likely to spend the winter back at home. Leading an attack in such cold weather would be suicidal. That is the another thing he has to check. Aro doesn't really care about the tortures this man likes to perform on his victims; he has seen many immortals who preferred to keep their prey alive and conscious while they were feeding. What he has to see is if this man is truly a great leader, with military skills and a perfect strategy, or if he is dealing with one of those crazy human maniacs who love to pass their time slaughtering others and was lucky enough to win in Tarchna and Vetluna.

The journey to Caisra takes almost two hours; he arrives in early afternoon. The sun is not a problem, since it is completely blocked by dark, grey clouds. Probably one good thing about the winter in the north is, he doesn't have to worry about the sparkling being noticeable to humans. Only other undead would be able to see the gentle glimmer on his skin.

The city is surrounded by a large necropolis. Most of the tombs were built a hundred years ago or more, so they can't have anything to do with present wars; still, the travelers who visit must be disturbed when they see such a large burial-ground. He jumps over a torrent and enters the actual town. All cities in Rasenna are built according to the same rite, so he immediately knows where he is and where he needs to get to. This is like walking on a large checkerboard; there are always three gates, three main streets, and three temples. The warrior he needs to find must be rich and of nobility, so he turns to the wealthiest part of town.

After a few minutes of listening to the conversations between the citizens, he knows almost everything. The man he is to find is called Cai; the similarity to the city name can be easily explained. He is the young lauchume, the king descended from the dynasty that has ruled this place for over two hundred years. Good; the image of a strong, fearless, immortal leader becomes very clear in Aro's mind, and the fear he might deal with a crazy, difficult newborn disappears almost completely.

He finds Cai in the biggest house in the city. Still, it is a regular house, not a place like one of which he lived in in Kemet. He enjoys his stay in Rasenna more than Didyme does, but some days, he really misses the civilization and the art of living they had to leave behind. Today is one of those days.

The only difference between Cai's house and those around it, is the presence of a large group of slaves inside. Most of them are young women, but the place is far from being filled with laughter or a happy chatter. It is quiet, and some of the girls hide bruises behind their warm, woolen shawls. Cai may be much more trouble than he is actually worth.

Aro finds the man in question in another room, lying on a simple, narrow bed and staring at the painted ceiling. He is surprised; Cai looks much younger than Aro thought he would be. He can't be older than twenty. His hair has a strange, almost white shade of blond. This is another surprise; Aro has heard that the young king is a descendant of the Caisran dynasty, but that doesn't explain his fair hair, pale complexion, and blue eyes. Of course, Cai's mother could be from one of the northern countries, but Aro has seen enough of mixed families to know that most of the children would inherit darker skin, dark hair, and almost never blue eyes. He senses there may a great mystery in the Caisran dynasty - a mystery that he would love to discover. He just needs a skin contact; he could probably move fast enough, so the young king wouldn't even notice his presence. However, they are alone here and since Aro's whole plan was to change the young man into an undead, he walks into the room with a speed only slightly faster than one a human can achieve.

"Would you like to become a god, Cai?" he asks.

"I hate winter! It gets dark so quickly!" Didyme lies on the bed, swinging her legs in the air. She wears an almost transparent white linen dress, which probably reminds her of a country where snow and frost don't exist. She holds some papyrus in front of her, but Marce knows her well enough to see she isn't interested in reading at the moment.

"It should get better in two months," he promises her.

"Do you think Aro will be here soon?"

"I think so. I have no idea where he vanished to this time. He should at least let me know he leaves."

"I doubt he cares enough to tell us where he is going." She looks at her husband, wondering if he will disagree.

"He loves you."

"Not enough."

She is glad Marce doesn't try to argue with her about it. Arguing with him about people's feelings is a lost cause.

"You would love to see winter in Kemet. The days are slightly shorter than during summertime, but not too much. And it is warm; maybe not as hot as during the summer months, but there is no need for winter clothes."

"We will go to Kemet one day. Don't worry about it."

"Why not now?"

"Didyme, I promised I would run this coven with Aro…", He doesn't like arguing with her.

She hates to use it, but one look at the dark night outside makes her continue. "What coven? Ramta is dead, Ranthu is gone, and Aro is hardly interested in anything that doesn't concern him personally. Why do we have to think about him?" she asks angrily.

"Kemet is full of the undead."

"Then we can go straight south. I doubt the country of Kush is so populated by the immortals, but even, if it is, we will just pass it and go straight to the source of the Nile. Then we can try to retrace the trail Mshai and Net found," she smiles.

It is another problem they have to deal with.

"Didyme, I promise you we will look for them. You just need to remember they are both humans, and you last heard from them almost seventeen years ago. We don't know if they found the island they were looking for. We don't even know if the island really exists. They could have gone somewhere else. They could have returned to Kemet after you left the temple. They may not recognize you, or refuse to join us. They could be dead," he adds as gently as he can.

"I know." She tries to make it sound at ease, but he can sense all the happiness that usually surrounds his wife has suddenly disappeared. Marce takes a seat next to her on the bed and hugs her gently.

"I promised you that we would search for them, and we will," he whispers, holding her. "I just want you to remember, that even if we don't find them, your sister and her husband have had a happy life together. They wrote about it in every letter they sent you. It may be very difficult to find them after all these years, and even if we don't, you shouldn't worry. I'm sure they will always be together somewhere."

She nods.

"Can you tell me, and please, don't try to spare my feelings, why you don't like it here?"

Didyme doesn't answer immediately. Instead, she just stares at the scroll. She hopes she will find the right answer, an answer that will sound more adult and mature, something that a woman in her twenties should say. She finds none, so she simply tells him the truth.

"Because it's cold and dark, and I love the sun. And palms. I've seen a few closer to the shore, but they are rare and they probably freeze in winter. I remember having many large palms close to the temple, along the canal. I also love the scent of the heat and warm sand. I know it's not a good reason to leave…" she admits sadly.

"You will be happier in the south. I don't need any other reasons," he gently rubs her back.

"Will you miss Velathri?"

He cuddles her more, nuzzling her hair.

"I don't think so."

"Good." She gently turns to kiss him.


	7. The Island

**I don't own Twilight.**

**I want to thank my beta, I-kno-you-want-me, for doing a splendid job… once again! **

**I hope you like this chapter. I will probably manage to post the next one before Christmas, but I still wish you happy holidays today!**

The island

Aro comes back in the middle of the night, surprising his sister and her husband. Didyme and Marce are immediately aware that he is not alone, and that his companion is stronger, faster than the other undead.

"Run and hide in the city!" Marce commends her, but Didyme was never an obedient woman. Instead, she dives under their bed to pick up her dress. Half transparent linen is not something that is worn by Etruscan women when they meet guests, but she can already hear Aro and the other immortal jumping over the wall.

"I'm going with you," she promises him sternly.

Marce sighs and goes out of the house in front of her. He hopes Aro and he will be able to kill the newborn if anything goes wrong.

Aro and his new companion stand in the middle of the orchard, arguing. Actually, Didyme is not sure if this is still an argument, or the beginning of a serious fight; because apart from trying to explain the rules of living in the world of the immortals, Aro does his best to avoid the others teeth. Didyme starts to laugh, and a second later, the two undead break their confrontation to look at her. She smiles at the new one, murmurs a polite greeting, and disappears behind Marce's back. Aro's new friend gives her a perfectly indifferent look, and his gaze wanders to her husband, trying to estimate his strength. Seducing the newcomer was never her plan, but his obvious lack of interest angers her. When his gaze wanders back to Aro, as if he expected an attack from him, Didyme sticks out her tongue at him.

The newborn immediately snarls and jumps in her direction. There are probably thousand of things she could do to avoid his attack or fight back, but as usual, her body freezes when faced with the thread of danger, her eyes close, her mind turns itself off, and she desperately hopes it will be over by the time her senses come back to life.

Suddenly she can feel familiar hands catching her on the waist, lifting her and sending her flying. Her body collides with a stone wall; seconds later she is sprawled on the floor of her former room in Aro's house. She wonders if her brother will be angry with her for destroying half of his house. However, she didn't hit the wall hard enough for it to collapse; there's just a large hole in the shape of a human. It's an interesting decoration, but she is not sure if her brother will like it. Surely, his house looks different than the others and Aro likes that original design.

The sound of an immortal's body being torn apart reminds her of what is really going on. Jumping back through what is left of the wall, she notes that the newborn has lost his both arms and her husband works to rip his head off; more like bite his head off, actually. She sits down on the ground, close to her brother, to watch the rest of the fight.

Aro's new companion might be a strong fighter, but, like all newborns he can hardly concentrate on anything. The closeness of the city with its blood pumping hearts must be extremely difficult for him. Very soon, one of his legs is gone; after that, Marce finally rips his head off. His wife smiles at him; claps her hands, and stands up to help him with igniting the fire.

"Don't. We may need him in the future." Aro stops them.

"To do what? Kill us all?" Didyme is probably the only person in the world who can ask such a question and laugh at the same time. Unfortunately for Aro, her husband doesn't find fighting for his life so amusing. Marce finally realizes his opponent didn't chase his coven mate to Velathri; he was invited. He walks slowly to Aro, still holding the head by the hair and throws it at his face. Aro catches it before it hits him. His sister bursts out laughing again, like she's watching the best comedy ever.

"I told you this man could be trouble to us, even as a human. What made you search for him and change him into one of us?" Marce doesn't bother to hide his fury.

Didyme gives them a quizzical look, trying to figure out what is going on. With her husband able to see bonds linking people and her brother being a powerful mind reader, following this conversation is almost impossible. Still, she feels Aro and Marce know exactly who this man is.

"He may be our only hope if the Dacians come back for us," Aro tries to explain.

"Because he'll get us, before they do, right?," She can't help but burst out laughing again.

"Because he's experienced with leading an army."

"He's also experienced with torturing and killing his opponents and burning whole cities, Aro. His bonds are different than normal ones. He doesn't feel love, or care, or even sympathy. I'm not sure he is even able to feel such emotions. All his bonds are based on curiosity, anger and fear. I doubt he can change. Aro, this man will kill you just to see how an immortal dies. We cannot keep him alive. Not when he knows where we live. He won't get better, probably even after his newborn year. He will never be able to cooperate with us. He was a human who hunted other people. Who do think he will hunt as an undead? I was able to take him down only because he smelled blood. What are you going to do if he goes for you in a year or two?"

"He isn't so different than a regular newborn, Marce. We can keep him for a year and see what happens. If he won't develop some kind of self-control, we will simply get rid of him. But you need to understand, that we were extremely lucky to survive Vlad's visit. The only reason why we are still alive is he didn't feel like killing us at the time. We cannot risk it anymore. We need strong fighters, and they are rarely nice and caring people."

"I won't risk having Didyme here."

The girl raises her head, surprised. Marce promised her they would go south; he told her they would leave as soon as it they possibly could, but she never thought they would go less than two hours after their talk. Still, it's what she always wanted, so she doesn't mind. Instead, she makes small mental notes on what she has to pack.

Aro is far less happy.

"You cannot go right now. I won't be able to train Cai alone."

"Then let me kill him and come with us," Marce shrugs, but after a second he places his palm in Aro's hand, showing him his thoughts.

"I know you will need me and I will help you. However, your sister cannot stay here. It would be too dangerous. We won't go all the way to Kemet, Aro. I know a small, deserted island around seven hours swim from here. I'll take Didyme there. It's a safe place, immortals tend to avoid it from the lack of food. We can go to the bigger island to hunt. After that, I will leave her alone and come here to help you for seven days. After a year, we will have to decide if this man is still threat. In that case, I'll help you get rid of him; if you ask me for that. If you choose to keep him, my wife and I will start our journey south. If after one year he will becomes more manageable, we will come back."

Didyme wonders what Marce is actually thinking while saying these words, because Aro immediately stops arguing. He even promises to wait with reassembling Cai's limbs to his body, till they leave.

Packing their possession takes less than ten minutes. She sighs leaving her scrolls once again, but there is no way they could survive an underwater trip. Her tiger travels in her pocket; all her garments are placed in a leather bag. It won't keep them dry, but she hopes they will survive the journey undamaged. Once they get to the island, she will just have to wash them in some fresh water.

Aro doesn't even try to talk them out from leaving when they say their goodbyes and finally go. Soon; the couple jumps over the wall, holding hands; the girl is almost radiating with happiness. Velathri was her home for five years, but she doesn't bother to look back even once.

The sea is grey, furious and cold, but nothing can ruin her mood today. Every move brings them closer South, to the little warm island with sand and palms. She dreamt of going further - that's true - but anything is better than snow and Aro's constant scheming. She smiles even brighter, when the dark clouds that covered the country of Rasenna disappear behind the two and she can see the sun rising far in the east.

They arrive in the late morning. The sun is hidden behind the clouds again, and the rain drizzles; but Didyme doesn't mind. She quickly climbs the cliff, following her husband. It's warm and she can already see a small palm grove covering one of the two volcanic hills.

"They're active. Actually, there are six volcanoes on the island. It's probably another reason why I never met anyone of our kind here. If you hear an eruption starting, I want you to run and dive in the sea as fast as you can," Marce reminds her. "Don't worry about our possessions. Just run."

His wife smiles confidently, but he already regrets bringing her here. Didyme has never been on her own; he can almost imagine her frozen from the shock or trying to get her toy and dying during the eruption a little too well. He wonders what would happen if he were to never come back to help Aro. His brother–in–law would probably be very angry, but there is not much he could do to bring the couple back. Cai won't agree to swim here. Even if he did, nothing can stop the couple from diving in the sea again and swimming to the other side, to Kemet. If they were to follow the river and remain submerged, their appearance should stay unnoticed to any hostile undead. They could start searching for Didyme's sister in less than two days… Still, he promised Aro he would return, and a liar Marce was not.

"I'll build you a shelter for now. Something that will keep you from getting wet. Before I return to Rasenna, I'll arrange a few workers from Trinacria to come here and build a regular house while I'm gone. Don't eat them before they finish it," he smiles and kisses her forehead.

"I won't," she promises. "Please, come back soon."

"I'll be back in seven days. Will you be all right till then?"

"Yes." She knows she could force him to stay if she tried, but Marce cares about her brother much more than she does and would feel guilty should the newborn kill Aro during his absence. "Go. I'll be fine."

Her husband starts his journey back to Rasenna soon after, leaving Didyme alone for the first time in her whole file, immortal or not.

Exactly seven days later, in the early morning, he is back. His wife sits on the roof of their new house, smiling. Marce is not sure if he likes the large, ostentatious house built from lava, stone and turf in Greek style, but bringing an architect from his home land would be too much trouble. The house that stands in front of him would be sufficient for a large family with children and servants; he has no idea what two immortals, who feed outdoors, can do with the space. Still, it seems that Didyme likes it. She decorated almost all the outside with already blooming blue borage and cape sorrel flowers. The terrace is shaded by grape vines. He can also see a few fresh planted almond trees and thousand of crocuses on the ground.

"I can see you were bored!" he smiles at her.

His wife jumps from the roof, straight into his arms and kisses him.

"Very. I'm glad you're back."

"I missed you too. How did you make those people work so fast? I've never seen a house built in less than a month," he asks.

She smiles at him; he cannot decide if she looks more wicked, innocent, or sweet.

"We had a small competition here. I showed them what I am and what I can do, and then promised I would spare them if they finished in less than six days. I also said I would change the one who worked the hardest into one of us," she explains proudly.

He freezes, but there is no sound of a heartbeat on the island.

"Don't worry; I ate all four of them yesterday. I wanted to leave you two, but they started panicking. Still, don't worry; I went to see the other islands and they are all inhabited. Do you want to go right now? The one you can see is called Meligunis. I went there yesterday evening. I found two towns on the island, so we don't need to go all the way to Trinacria to hunt," she smiles. "And we have thermal spring with hot water close to the house!"

"I told you to stay on the island," he starts gently.

"Marce, we are perfectly safe here. Even if one of our kind did show up, all we would have to do is dive into the sea to lose him. This place is perfect for us," she smiles. "How are things back in Rasenna?"

"Cai is being difficult, and your brother is stubborn, as always. We built another cottage; this one outside of the city walls. It's still too early to let him live there alone, but it should be easier than living in the actual city."

"I would make Aro pay for calling me the most difficult newborn in the world, should we ever go back. At least he didn't have to move because of me."

"Trust me; Cai is his punishment."

Didyme starts to laugh. Somehow, it sounds different. Her brother is far away and so are the dark clouds and snows of Rasenna. Her husband stands next to her, and she is glad to have the man she loves close. It's not very hot, but she can feel the sunshine on her skin. The air smells of salt water, sand and wild flowers. It is a perfect place to live in. She laughs again and finally thinks of why it feels so different. For the first time since she has become an immortal, she feels absolutely happy without using her gift.

They decide to visit other islands again, because Marce needs to hunt. Meligunis is a perfect choice, when they need to feed quickly; but it lies to close to their island and is too small to use as a regular hunting ground. Didyme follows her husband to one of the two towns on the island. Very soon, two shepherds, who were unlucky to be at the wrong place in the wrong time, disappear forever. The couple drowns their bodies in the sea, on the way to the second island.

The next island is called Vulcano. There is proof that men have been there to harvest wood, but the whole place smells of active volcano. Didyme's senses immediately tell her it is too dangerous to stay here long. They dive again and swim all the way to Trinarcia.

They land on a beautiful, sandy beach. It is too cold for people to seek shade or go into the water, but the temperature reminds her more of a particularly cold night during winter season in Kemet, than the snow and frost she had experienced in Rasenna. Still, she can see a large mountain covered with snow somewhere in front of her.

"It's another volcano," Marce explains to her.

"How did you find this place?" she asks after a long pause.

"Living with Ramta and Ranthu wasn't always easy, and this place was perfect when I needed some time alone. As I said before, the undead in general avoid these islands. They are probably afraid of the volcanoes. Still, it's hardly dangerous if you know what to look for before eruption. In general, if you hear something moving inside the Earth, run to the shore. If the eruption starts and you haven't manage to leave the island, avoid lava and watch out for flying stones. They can be on fire," he continues. "And don't go to Mount Aitne. You can see it perfectly from here."

She nods, slightly overwhelmed.

"Do you want to hunt?" Marce asks her.

"Not today. You shouldn't leave me alone with four men. Those few hours after I fed I thought their blood would drip from my ears every time I bent down."

"Do you want to go back home?"

"I don't think so."

She suddenly grins. "You said immortals avoid this place?"

""Yes," he answers, trying to guess what is on her mind.

"Well, since Aro isn't here, and we don't have to worry about revealing our presence to humans, maybe we could have some fun…"

An hour later they arrive on a strait between Trinacria and the mainland. The mountains on the other shore are much higher, their tops still coved with snow.

"This is the other way to Rasenna. Unfortunately, going on land takes almost twice as much time," Marce tells her.

Didyme nods. At the moment, she doesn't want to remember the dark and clouded country up north. Instead, she concentrates on watching the sea. After a few minutes, she can hear something moving on the water surface. It is too slow to be an undead. Very soon, the sound becomes clearer, and she can distinguish twenty heartbeats and the sound of a boat moving slowly through the waves. It is still far to the south in front of them, but she is too impatient to wait any longer.

"Wait for me here?" she asks her husband and dives.

She emerges close to the boat and sits on a small rock nearby. The whole crew seems to be busy getting ready to pass through the strait. She silently takes the ribbon out of her hair and lets it fall loose on her back; and when the boat passes by her rock, Didyme sings.

Her voice was flawless even in her human years, and she knows that. It became even more beautiful after she was changed. But nothing can compare to how she sounds right now, accompanied by the stormy waters and wind. She sits there, her whole body covered with wet, black hair and sings a Greek song about a home being lost forever.

No one from the crew reacts. This is surprising, but then she notices they were prepared for her luring: the ears of each sailor are filled with wax. She shrug, ready to dive back into the sea, when she notices a pair of dark eyes staring at her. Another man on the ship, one who looks to be in charge of the rest, has his ears free. She smiles and puts her whole heart and vocal abilities into her song, wondering if he will jump and die in the water. Unfortunately, her prey is tied to a mast.

She doesn't feel like hunting anyway; but the ship is probably the most splendid toy she has ever had, and Didyme is not ready to let it go yet. She dives back and follows it on the side of the mainland, circling it from time to time with abnormal speed. The sailors try to avoid colliding with her body, but their lack of hearing makes any communication very difficult. She jumps from the water as high as she can, hoping the wave she will create will knock the boat over. Still, even without the ability to hear the crew somehow manages to avoid the waves and whirlpools. They even maneuver between the rocks close to Trinacrian coast. Just when they enter the strait, Marce jumps on the ship, grabs two men and disappears with them under water. Didyme joins him later on a cliff, when she finally tires of the chase.

"This is so much fun," she laughs. "I wonder why Aro doesn't allow hunting like this at home."

"He is concerned about revealing our presence to humans."

"I know. Still, I doubt they will ever be able to say what really hit them. They probably think I'm some kind of a sea creature. And they didn't see you. They just heard the screams. Our secret is safe!" she grins. Suddenly her mood drops. "Am I very childish?"

"No, you're not," he reassures her immediately. "I had just as much fun as you. And I think you are absolutely perfect."

"Will you race me back to Island Didyme then?"

"Of course. You know I had no idea this island had a name..." He winks.

"Yes, I know. The humans left it unnamed. It was a serious oversight to leave one of the islands without a name. So, I decided I would do it myself.. I thought of something simple, easy to pronounce, yet beautiful and graceful. And then I decided there is only one word that meets all of my conditions."

"And it happened to be your name?"

"Yes, I know. Such a coincidence," she grins.

"Then I guess it would be such a shame if you lost a race to your own island?"

Before she has any time to brag, he catches her and throws her into the water on the eastern side of the cliff, before jumping from the northern side and taking the shortest way to their island.

Two days later, in the evening, they sit on the cliff close to their home watching the sunset. Marce should have already been on his way to Rasenna, but they both put forth effort to postpone his moment of departure as much they can. Right now, he helps her to create a hundred micro braids.

"I will need to visit Trinacria and get more ribbons, when you are gone," she tries to sound casual and use her gift at the same time to make their parting easier, but her husband knows her too well to be fooled.

"I would rather have you here, on the island. If you are in desperate need for something, go to Meligunis. Both Trinacria and the mainland can be dangerous. I promise I will come back as soon as possible," he adds.

"I know. Tell Aro I miss him. Or maybe tell him to kill Cai and come here. Tell him we could see the whole world if he would only join us."

"I will. Still, I doubt he will change his mind. Your brother is almost as stubborn as you are."

"I am not that stubborn!" she says with fake anger.

"Of course. You're just very determined," his playful mood fades. "I need to go, Di. I am supposed to be back around midnight."

"I'll miss you," she kisses him gently on the lips. "I don't like parting every few days."

"I know. Please, be careful".

Immortals can't cry like humans do, so her eyes are completely dry when her husband leaves her once again.

**Thank you for reading. **

**I'm not sure if you know it, but Island Didyme really exists. It is a small island near Sicily, now called Salina. The Greeks used to call it Didyme. It is less than 150km from were I live, and I was desperate to use it in this story. So I hope you will like this island too. Please, leave reviews, even very short once, just let me know you read this story.**

**Ciao**

**Hibiscus**


	8. Third day of winter

**I don't own Twilight.**

**I want to thank my beta, I-kno-you-want-me.**

**Guys, this chapter is a part of my regular story, but it is also a Christmas chapter. In a way, because nobody celebrated Christmas in 800 b.c, but I wanted Didyme to have her birthday on 12/24. And that's almost Christmas. I hope you have fun, I will post next chapter in February.**

Third day of winter

The year Didyme spends on the island is different than those in Rasenna. Her brother is not here, so the freedom she feels is absolute. The house may be too large for her and she admits it every time she has to clean it; but it's the first building that was built under her supervision and belongs only to her and her husband. Households are still hardly her favorite activity, but she knows they cannot risk bringing people to the island every week. Someone would surely notice their disappearance, and her self-control isn't good enough to live a under the same roof with a human and never attack.

She sighs watching the sun rise upon the water surface. Marce is still not here, and she just spent another night waiting for his arrival on the shore. Last winter, she was sure she would soon get used to seeing him every seven days. Alas, it seems to get harder with every passing week. It feels like time slows when he leaves her, and rushes to catch up till the second he has to go again. Her little island is perfect, her house is absolutely splendid, and the freedom she now has is something simply wonderful; yet she feels like she cannot live like this any longer.

She lies on the sand and starts to sing, hoping her song will bring him to her. Still, it takes him almost an hour more to arrive. She immediately jumps to her feet and tries to rid of the sand that sticks to her hair.

"Allow me," he takes the ribbon from her hair and starts unbraiding it, removing all the sand grains.

"How is the situation in Rasenna?" she asks, biting her tongue when the words "back home" almost slip out of her mouth.

"It's better," he answers with a smile "I doubt Cai will ever become a nice and caring person, but his rage attacks have become more manageable. We were even able to move him back to Velathri. I am not entirely content about it, because now he is obsessed with making the Dacians fall, and Aro encourages him even more to do so, but… at least it is safe for you to come back."

Come back. So her days on the island are over. In a way she is glad; it means she won't have to part with her husband the day after tomorrow. But it also means she will have to go back to Rasenna in the beginning of the winter. The idea of snow and frost immediately makes her mood drop. Though right, now she isn't sure if the weather is the only thing to blame, or if her bad mood in the north wasn't her brother's fault. His constant scheming, his experiments with her gift, and the way he almost gave her to their enemies as a hostage still makes her feel uneasy in his presence.

Marce must have noticed her mood change.

"I also have good news for you," he says. She notices he is already finished cleaning her hair. In a few seconds, her hair is tied back in a thick braid.

"We have to go to Rasenna, but I doubt we will be forced to stay longer than ten days. It may surprise you, but Aro wants us to travel."

It sure does surprise her.

"Where? Why?" she adds after a second.

"Well, Aro is more than happy that he found Cai, who happens to be the strongest strategist of us three; however, the four of us will never win a battle against a coven of almost twenty… or more."

"He wants to create an army." It makes sense, and it was something to be expected; yet this idea frightens her. Fighting with Vlad's people may cost them their lives.

"Yes, he wants to create an army, but he won't be satisfied with recruiting some existing immortals or changing random humans. Your brother wants an army of gifted fighters."

"But it's impossible to see if someone is going to be gifted before you change him."

"He's trying to locate very talented people right now. Rumors travels and he suspects the wife of the king in Mykenai may be able to see the future."

"So, we are going to visit Graecia?"

"No, that's where Aro and Cai will go. I doubt they will need our help with catching and biting one human woman."

Didyme starts to laugh.

"Where will we go?"

"I don't know yet," he says, but something in his voice tells her he already has an idea and is sure she is going to love it. "I think we can leave both Graecia and Rasenna to your brother. The north probably belongs to the Dacians, and I won't risk taking you to their territory. To the southwest, there is probably only desert. Kemet has already been claimed. But if we go further south, to Kush, we will find lots of people. And once we are in Kush, we can also try going even further. I've once heard of a two members of a very talented family who went there," he grins. " I told Aro there is a great chance they are gifted as well."

"We're going to look for Net and Mshai!" she squeaks.

"Yes. Just remember what I've told you. We may not find them."

Still, nothing could ruin her mood at the moment. She dances on the beach, splashing water and shouting something in Egyptian too fast for him to understand.

A few minutes later, all things she can take are packed. That doesn't include the scrolls that were delivered to her from Trinacria. She also leaves some of her clothes. Immortals rarely use boats and carriages to travel; running or swimming is much faster, but it usually means leaving things behind. Didyme doesn't like doing so, but notices she gets used to it. She only needs seconds to decide what to take and what to leave.

The water is actually warm for the third day of winter, but after a while it gets stormy. The waves are getting stronger and stronger, and when the first lightening strikes next to them, Marce tells her to swim deep under the surface, where she should be safe. Actually, she has to admit it makes swimming much more interesting than it usually is; the water is almost black and she can hear giant waves breaking upon them, the sound of electricity, and see flashes of white light when a lightening strikes close to them. There is also a sound of tiny raindrops hitting water. All the fish are gone; they are probably hidding closer to the bottom. Their journey to Rasenna takes three more hours than usual, but she doesn't mind. The storm is one of the greatest and most magical experiences she has ever witnessed.

They land on the beach close to Fufluna.

"Can we hunt before going further?" she smiles gently. Not that she's very thirsty, but seeing Aro's reaction to her hunting almost in the city is going to be… interesting. In a way, she's almost missed him being angry with her.

"Of course."

They reach Velathri in the early evening. It is already dark, so instead of simply jumping through the wall close to their home, they decide to enter the city using one of the three main gates. It's very warm for winter this far north, but the heavy rain makes the town look abandoned. They can only hear the heartbeats and human voices, laughing, crying or discussing something inside.

The lemon orchard smells funny, like the nature can't decide what season it is. Instead of the grey scent of snow and frost, she can smell warm ground, the rain, some grass and few lemon flowers, which have chosen to bloom early and are now slowly dying from cold.

The place looks slightly different than when she left it almost a year ago. Ramta's house looks like someone is living there; probably Cai, she guesses. Aro's house is slightly bigger - the wall she had ruined was pulled down to create another, very large room.

"Your brother built a library," her husband explains.

"Great!" Didyme probably won't have much time for reading before they leave again, but still; she hopes that Aro will allow her to read some of his new possessions.

Their home looks exactly like it did last year, but some changes were made in the garden. It's bigger than it was and someone took a great effort to change the bed of a stream close to their houses to create a small pond.

"We had to put Cai to work," Marce smiles. "He still gets aggressive when he's bored, so we did everything in our power to keep him busy."

"Renovating houses, digging new water beds, and creating gardens – I bet he just loved it," she laughs.

"Of course he did," he husband grins, before turning serious. "Di, he has become… he is not as aggressive as he was, but I want you to be very careful around him. I made sure he knows what would happen to him if he even tried to hurt you, but I still don't entirely trust him. He will visit us today and I want you to avoid being alone with him.

Didyme nods. "Where are they?" she adds after a few seconds.

"I don't know. Maybe Cai needed to hunt." She nods again. Marce is a the worst liar she has ever met, but she doesn't feel like forcing him to tell her the truth. After all, today is her birthday, and the absence of Aro and Cai can either mean her husband forced them to prepare something for her; or that the two didn't want to celebrate and decided to leave the town for a few days. Either way, she doesn't mind.

Their house smells damp; Didyme guesses Marce didn't really live here while she was gone.

"We need to start a fire," she says. It will take time till the whole place catches the nicer smell of burning wood, but they have to get rid of the stink now. She leaves the door wide open. After a few seconds, she returns to the orchard to gather the remains of the few flowers she had seen before and brings them home. Their smell is faint, but it's better than nothing.

"Sorry, I should have checked the house before I went to see you…"

"I'm glad you didn't; I was feeling very lonely before you came."

She can still smell the dampness - it will take days to get rid of it - but it doesn't stink as bad as it did minutes ago. The bed is slightly wet, so she lays the bag with her possessions on the wooden chair.

"Come, we will clean once we get back; right now, I want you to see the library."

A perfect housewife would probably refuse to leave a house in such a bad condition, but Didyme never cared about the title.

"All right," she smiles. "But Aro will be angry if we enter his place uninvited."

"Don't worry, I already talked about it."

Hmm… It probably means her brother agreed to celebrate her birthday. It may not be a big thing, but her mood increases.

"Let's go then."

Their clothes are already dry, so they run to the other house not willing to soak again. Inside, Didyme immediately goes to see her former room. The library is almost empty; her brother must have just built it. There is almost no furniture, except for a little table; a few scrolls Aro possesses lie in the corner. In the middle of the room, he has built a modern looking fireplace, with a cone-shaped tunnel to trap the smoke. She sits on the floor while Marce brings wood and starts the fire. Then he takes one of the scrolls and joins her on the floor.

"A map?" she asks, trying to decipher the strange drawing,

"Yes, it's the only map of both Kemet and Kush that we found in Rasenna," her husband explains. "I know how imprecise it looks, but I thought we could use it while planning our trip. Do you remember anything from what Net wrote on the kites?"

"Yes," she stares at the map, obviously trying to find something. "She said they were traveling through the desert when the river spilt into two branches. The path on their right was brighter, so they decided to follow it. I guess the split could be here," she says, showing him two connected lines on the map. "Then she told us they were traveling through the jungle; maybe this is the jungle," she adds, looking at a large green spot. "And that's where the map ends. I know they made it further south and found a large lake. That's where they left the river and went east, to get to the island. That's the last message we got from them."

"Do you remember how much time went between the letter about the jungle and the one about the lake?"

She concentrates hard on her dim human memories.

"I'm not sure. Two –three months… at most…Why do you ask?"

"If we knew how long it took them to get to the jungle, we could count how fast they were going. Then we could use the scale to see where the lake is supposed to be and where they turned east."

Didyme gives him a strange look.

"We would need a better map to measure anything. You cannot use a scale on a map that is actually a drawing. Whoever made it clearly wasn't paying any attention to distance, so using a scale is out of the question. I also know that they didn't march every day. Mshai tried to make a more accurate map using stars position, and Net wrote about visiting some villages and deciding to make a journal about cultures who lived there…And we have no idea how the river bed looks that far south, because if it turns a lot, it would make their journey much longer than we could measure…" And then it hits her. The whole knowledge she has about mathematics and astronomy comes from her upbringing in Kemet. People in Rasenna still don't posses it. And a son of a freed man, who worked hard on a farm close to the town of Aret ,wouldn't even know such knowledge existed. Marce must have heard something from Aro and tried to impress her, and she simply proved he knows nothing. The sadness in his eyes, that he tries to hide from her, is a sure sign she is correct.

She wishes she would have bit her tongue a few seconds ago and simply let him tell her what he's heard about maps and scales. The temple of Sebek was a large religious and cultural center; she had met so many writers, astronomers and mathematicians that she simply had to learn something from them. All festivals were based on a calendar, a calendar so much better than what people here use. She was taught scales and not only the one used to draw a perfect map. She knows how to tell today's date using only the stars position. She could easily count when the next eclipse will happen. Marce never had a chance to learn those things.

Still, the most important things is his actions keep impressing her. He has travelled on his own and discovered the island she spent last year on. He is a skilled fighter. He wasn't afraid to oppose Aro and save her from being forced to go with the Dacians. And he loves her. Even when she does something reckless, stupid or terribly childish, or, on the other hand, when she is too afraid to act like she supposed to. Marce has always been with her, protecting her, comforting her and helping her bring her wildest ideas to live. Like hunting in a strait one year ago. She has to smile every time she remembers that time in her life.

She was always good with words when she wanted someone to do things for her, or influence someone's decision, but talking about her feelings doesn't come as easily. Instead, she simply settles on Marce's lap.

"I love you. And I couldn't be happier with anyone else," she adds softly, before kissing him. He passionately kisses her back, and she knows the scale incident is forgotten.

"Aro will kill us," she says half an hour later.

"I won't let him," her husband grins before kissing her once again.

"He will see in my mind what we did in his library, and then he will kill us both," she tries to sound serious, but her nose starts to wrinkle like when she is about to laugh.

"Well, I guess he shouldn't read people's mind if he's not ready to see their memories," he winks.

"Right! And, after all, this room was once mine, so I can still use it as I please," she sticks out her tongue, hoping Aro will see this detail as soon as he touches her hand."

"Exactly. Also, this room is too big for his few scrolls, he should be glad we found another way to use it."

That makes her giggle. Hard. Finally, she stands up and grabs her dress; more like what's left of it. The combination of seawater, salt, rain, and almost not seeing her husband for a year made it look slightly… destroyed. Marce starts to laugh when she looks at the scraps, trying to figure out how to wear what's left of her garment.

"I believe now is the right time to give you your birthday present," he smiles.

"If it's something to wear and if it's here, then yes; this is a perfect time."

"Of course it's here," he says, disappearing in the atrium. "I knew if it was at our place, you would dig it up immediately after you got home."

She sits on the floor, trying not to show how excited she is and listening hard to what her husband is doing. So, the place where he hides presents is in the atrium - five steps from the entrance.

"It's such a shame this hiding place is compromised now," he says still from the outside. "It was so close to home…"

Didyme growls at him with fake anger.

"Oh, come on, are you still sewing it? My brother is going to see what happened here when he touches my hand whether we want him or not, I don't want him to find me naked."

She hears a burst of laughter in the atrium, and a second later Marce is back in the room, his hair completely soaked from the rain. He carries a dress very similar to the one she had brought from Kemet six years ago; blue with golden stars. The material is slightly different and the dress has short sleeves instead of thin straps on her arms, but apart from that, it's a perfect copy of her favorite garment.

"Thank you," Didyme smiles, taking the dress from him. She gently puts it on.

"It fits perfectly," she adds after a second. "And it's a perfect for our trip. I love it."

They spend the rest of the night in the library, simply listening to the raindrops hitting the roof. Snowflakes would probably make it more romantic; and Didyme wouldn't mind seeing snow during the ten days she has to spend up north, but the weather doesn't care about humans and immortals wishes. The morning is warm and filled with the smell of grass sprouting from the ground.

Aro and Cai return at noon, when her birthday is officially over. It doesn't even make her angry. Actually, she feels just tired of her brother's actions. It makes her decide to play her own game, she concentrates on her behavior in the library the previous night very hard. "I didn't miss you last night," she adds in her thoughts when the memory ends.

Instead of killing her, he gives her an absolutely indifferent look.

"Your gift is in the atrium. I hope it will make you feel more at home in Rasenna."

So, Aro's present was here the whole time? Didyme immediately forgets about dignity and runs outside.

In the middle of the atrium, there is a single palm growing. It is still young and smaller than those in the south. The high walls of the house protect it from the wind. It looks funny and out of place in Velathri, but it also reminds her of home. It's not enough to make her stop missing Kemet, but at least, she now has a palm.

"Thanks," she smiles.

Cai approaches her slowly and she can see Marce's body tense, but the fair-haired man simply gives her a straw made of gold and bronze.

"What is it?" she asks, after trying to figure it out by herself.

"You can use it when you want to drain your victim slower. Humans usually die from shock after you bite them. Using this, you can keep them alive till they are almost empty," he explains proudly.

It takes all the power of her gift to react properly after she hears that.

"Thank you for your lovely gift," she says with a smile only slightly too wide to be natural.

Soon the men start discussing their trips. Of course, Didyme is eager to go too, but right now she doesn't feel like talking about it. Instead, she goes to the atrium to watch her palm from the safe distance of the roofed colonnade, not willing to ruin her new dress. She is twenty one if one would count human years, or, more accurately, forever fifteen. Happily married. Her brother is strange, and she even refuses to think of a right word to describe Cai, but at least, she has a family. Her life has been unpredictable, just like the weather which decided to skip winter and bring spring to Rasenna during the shortest days of the year. She raises her head, trying to see the sunshine, but the clouds are too heavy for that. Still, everything smells of life and she feels the next year will only bring her happiness.


	9. Maze

** and all characters mentioned In the book belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**2. I want to help my beta, I-kno-you-want me, for doing a splendid job once again.**

**I know I promised to post this chapter in February, and we have very late March. Sorry for that.**

9. Maze.

Mykenai comes up a dead end; the wife of the king passed two years ago. After wasting a few more weeks visiting several villages on the mainland, Aro and Cai decide to swim further south. The little islands around Graecia are a perfect hunting ground, offering humans in every age and shape. The effort to change and take care of a newborn immortal for several months before the potential gift reveals itself or not is too big for them to make them choose random people.

They spend a lot of time watching fisherman repairing their nets, potters dreaming about being discovered as real painters or sculptors and drawing every detail on their vases with such devotion man would think their life depends on it; women taking care of the children and at the same time secretly counting how many coins their husbands had spend during the previous evening. Coins. Aro decides they will need to take a few of them on their way back to Rasenna. This new method of payment still hasn't made it to the Etruscan country, but one day it surely will, and he wants to be prepared.

After a few more days of utterly fruitless wanderings, he is almost ready to give up and go back home.

"Not before we see Kriti."

Aro sighs. Cai's behavior had changed during the previous year, but he cannot decide if he is entirely happy with it. His new coven mate is now less aggressive than before. Unfortunately, he craves the power just as much as Aro does. He knows he is still not ready to openly challenge him, but during the last two months he has questioned almost every decision Aro and Marce has made. The latter wasn't really worried about any of Cai's insistent questions; it seems Marce is now too busy making sure his wife is well and content. Aro, however, feels the balance of power swinging away from him.

He chose to change Cai because of the others skills with leading an army and ruling a kingdom. And it's true, Cai is a natural leader. He was born and raised to be one. It is something the two don't share; Aro's father planed for him to be the next high priest, not a fighter. Of course, he was taught about military and tactics; he was even sent to watch a battle from the distance when he was twenty. He has the knowledge; however, Cai has both the knowledge and the experience. Unfortunately for Aro, his new coven mate is too smart not to use it to his advantage.

"Kriti has always been a great center of culture and art in this area. It probably still is, even after the Doric invasion. If there are any particularly gifted humans out there, someone is monitoring them."

"I guess you are aware of the story of supernatural creatures living there. And, of course, you know that many immortals decide to visit this island. Some of them probably fell in love with it so much, they chose to not come back. Or Kriti has its own, very powerful coven, able to annihilate them."

"You don't know that."

"I don't. Do you?"

"Cowardice won't bring you an empire, Aro."

"Nor will a suicide."

"Fine. Go back. Wait for me in Velathri. I will be back in a month. Unless I choose to stay on the island," Cai smiles.

Aro is perfectly aware this is a challenge. Unfortunately, he cannot risk losing his new family member. He dives in the sea and starts swimming toward Kriti with a perfect smile on his face. Cai might have won this battle, but he won't see him defeated.

None of them have ever been to the island before, but immediately they notice the way the Dorians managed to kill the civilization that had ruled it for thousands of years. Some people still live in the little villages close to the shore, but the former capital, Knossos, has become a ghost town. Once bright colors are now faded and dim; a large statue of a bull, now hornless, stands on the edge of collapsing, waiting for the wind and rain to finish the job and bring this place back to nature.

"I hope you are satisfied with your trip. Can we go back now?" Aro smiles. This battle was worth losing after all. "Or do you plan to sight-see?"

A small cluster of humans walking by on the deserted street catches their attention. An older couple, escorted by four servants, walks their teenage son to the entrance of the former palace, says their farewell, and promises to wait for him here in three days. The woman almost begs the boy not to come out any earlier. His father gives him a flute to play and tells him he doesn't want him to keep a torch inside the labyrinth; he has to survive those few days without anything to read. Two servants take large baskets with food and two vases, one filled with wine and the other one with water, and follow the boy inside. One of them holds a white spool of thread in his hand, and the other a torch.

Fifteen minutes later they are back.

"Did you make sure he will be comfortable there?" Aro can sense fear in the old woman's voice.

"We left him a pillow and a blanket last time. They weren't destroyed."

Destroyed? He gives Cai a quizzical look. It seems most of the people have abandoned Kriti, but it's mysteries are still here. His friend simply nods.

"We will go inside once they leave."

Very soon the strange couple is gone, and after the sound of their heartbeats disappears completely, the two immortals enter the palace.

Inside they find the labyrinth they have only read about. Its walls are painted in strange, colorful patterns, even though these patterns would be invisible to every human who walked more then five meters inside. The place is absolutely dark and silent; the only sound is that of the young man's breathing deep inside. Finding him without knowledge where to turn would be impossible for a human; an intruder could wander for days and die from dehydration, before he would find an exit For the undead, however, it's simply an interesting game. Aro is sure his sister would love this place.

He concentrates on listening to the human's breathing and tries to find all the walls between them, and in less than a minute he can see the boy. He is very young, probably even younger than Didyme. He looks clumsy; or at least, his body decided it was time to fully grow up, and the muscles chose to wait a few more years because his limbs seem to be too long. He is lying on the blanket, looking completely innocent and utterly bored

"Thirsty?" Aro can hear Cai's words perfectly, even though they are too low for a human ear to even notice a sound.

"No. I don't understand why they keep him here."

"It may be a punishment."

Maybe. But somehow Aro doubts that. Those people were sad and afraid when they left their son inside. Aside from the boy and the two immortals, the labyrinth is empty, so he isn't an offering for a bull living here, like in the legends. Why keep him in here, then? He could easily find out, but he knows how human senses work. Had the boy been outside, his sight would dominate his other senses and he probably wouldn't even notice if something brushed his skin, but the sensory deprivation he experiences right now might make him extremely sensitive. And Aro always liked mysteries and riddles. If he didn't find out what's going on right here, right now, he can still get the answer from the boy or one of his family members in three days. Now, he wants to try to find out himself.

"Leave him for now," he whispers to Cai, and the two immortals go back into the world of light.

Now, that they know they will spend at least three days on Kriti, they need a place to stay. Knossos may be a ghost town, but the whole island was once very populous, and Aro is sure its citizens would soon begin to wonder what the two strange visitors do in the abandoned capital.

They choose to spend some time in Chersonesos, a large seaport on the north coast. The city is full of foreigners, and Aro doubts the two fair skinned men, who prefer to stay out of the sun, will stand out.

Arranging a place for them to stay is very simple; he just walks in into a house with the coins he had acquired on the mainland. It is too much - he knows it immediately after shaking the owner's hand - but money was never important to creatures who posses unnatural strength and speed. Should they need more coins, they will find a way to get it.

The owner of the house ask them for their baggage, shouting at his children to help their guests. His son - one in his early twenties - is visibly delighted they have none. His sister is probably in her late teens, short and slightly chubby. She is the plainest girl Aro has probably seen in his whole life, but for some reason, Cai smiles at her when she shows them the room in the front of the house.

"That's where my father and brother usually stay. My mom and I live upstairs. If you need anything, just call me. My name is Dora," she smiles gently.

"Of course we will," Aro had already lost all interest in the girl and waits for Cai to send her out of the room.

"You have a nice house." Unfortunately, his silent companion seems to be quite chatty around the girl.

"Thank you. My grandfather built it for my family. My brother and I were both born here."

"Do you ever leave this town?"

"Yes, many times, our father has friends in some villages nearby."

"Send her away," Aro mumbles too low for the girl to hear, but Cai simply shakes his head. What is so special about the girl? Her hair looks nice - Aro has to admit it; it is strawberry blond - not red enough to call her a redhead, but enough to make it look unique that far south. She is not ugly and seems to be nice, however, they have probably met hundreds of girls like Dora on their journey and Cai didn't even bother to speak a word in front of them. This won't turn out well; Aro knows that. He doesn't need another Marce and Didyme situation in his family. But maybe this girl is just what Aro needs to distract Cai and claim leadership of the coven.

"Have you ever been on the mainland?"

"No: I get sick on ships. I once travelled to Avgo, and it was the worst day of my life.

"Oh, we have ways to deal with this problem," Cai winks at Aro.

"I thought we were looking for gifted humans."

"Maybe she is?"

"Maybe…"

Cai turns back to the girl, oblivious to their conversation.

"Have you even been to the capital?"

"Knossos? No, the city is abandoned."

"Would you like to go there with us?"

That makes her unsure. Aro is confident good little, Greek girls never travel with two foreigners alone to visit an abandoned ghost town.

"I don't think so…"

"And if we took your brother with us? It's our first day here. We will need a guide." The girl gives Cai a startled look.

"You came today?"

"Yes."

"I haven't seen any ships coming to port the whole day."

It makes Cai silent, but Aro dealt with plenty of conversations like this during his human years.

"We took a Phoenician ship to Itanos, but it was too far from Knossos, so we decided we would find a place to stay on the northern shore. Here we are."

"Weren't you tired?" she asks, visually forcing herself to pronounce those words in Phoenician language. Aro has to smile. Dora may lack the talent for foreign languages his sister possesses, but she is smart and not easily fooled. Good; maybe she is exactly what he needs to keep Cai in line - without all the drama his sister causes to entertain Marce. He would still prefer to find a gifted human though.

The girl offers them some water, and he gladly accepts, using the short contact when she gives him the cup to see some of her recent thoughts. Dora likes her visitors, deeply loves her family, and dreams about having one of her own - with a husband who will take care of her and a few children. Somehow, she reminds Aro of one of his sisters, Kamilah. Dora would be a perfect wife for a mortal man. She would be a great mother. Still, he cannot see her happy in the immortal life. The skin contact was too short for him to see if she ever dreamt of power, wealth, eternal youth or supernatural beauty, but he somehow doubts it. What she wants is seeing her relatives happy, falling in love and having children, raising them and watching them grow up to start their own families. She is pretty but not beautiful, so she probably wouldn't mind growing old one day. Taking humanity from Dora, or Athenodora, which is her full name, seems wrong.

"No. We are used to travelling a lot," he smiles at her, answering in flawless Phoenician.

Didyme spends their sea journey pretending she is a mermaid again and jumping through the waves. It is really entertaining to watch, but it takes much more time than Marce had planned; instead of entering the Nile delta in the middle of the night, they get there at dawn. It could have protected them from the hostile undead who rule the country, should they care about not revealing their presence to the humans. Unfortunately, Aro told Marce that the Egyptian coven doesn't care about it. They need to swim in the middle of the river, close to the bottom to avoid being spotted by humans. If the local clan hears rumors about two strange human-shaped creatures swimming up the river, they are likely to be investigated. There is no point in scaring Didyme by telling her that they may die if someone sees them.

He relaxes slightly when they pass the biggest cities. Of course, some immortals could live close to Kush - after all, Aro was once attacked and changed in this area - but they are more likely on the outskirts of the hostile territory than in the middle of it.

Suddenly, Didyme grabs his hand and forces him to swim up. He is far from happy following her to the surface, but she is obviously trying to tell him something, and he doesn't want her to swallow tons of water in the process.

"I know this place. It's where I first hunted!" she announces proudly.

"How do you know that?"

"I guess because it was the first time I entered the river as an immortal. Being under water and not needing to breath was the most amazing experience I had lived at that point. And of course, my eyes were super strong. I concentrated on almost everything then, on the turns of the river, the shape of the sand on the bottom…" suddenly she smiles " We are almost in Nebit!"

"Do you want to see your former home?" It would put them in a great danger, but Didyme was always very close with her family, and Marce doesn't want to take the ability to meet them again from her.

"No," she surprises him again. "I think my dad is already dead." His talent to read their bond can't tell him if it is true or not, but it is enough for him to know that Didyme has already said her farewell to her father.

"And I don't want to see this place ruled by Kamilah's husband," his wife adds gently. "I wouldn't mind seeing if Sebek is alive, but if we go to the pond, it will be hard not to visit the temple. I don't want to know who lives in my former room now," she adds sadly.

"All right." If she changes her mind, they can still visit the place on their way back. "Come; we are not far from Kush. We will be there before nightfall if we hurry."

She dives and follows him under water.

It is hard to see where the border lies between Kemet and Kush. At some point, they see less humans with olive complexion, and more with brown skin. The color gets darker in almost every village they pass. After the sun sets, the couple decide to travel by land – it seems all immortals living in this part of the world decided to go to Kemet and fight for domination there. Kush is famous for wild animals attacks, but none of them can think of an animal dangerous to the undead. Walking on the shore in the moonlight could probably be very romantic, but Didyme is too impatient for that. She runs forward, splashing the water.

What catches Marce's eyes when they enter the kingdom, is a large number of soldiers present in almost every town on their way. He may not be as experienced in military art as Cai is, but he is sure of one thing: Kush has created an army. And such a large army so close to the border of Kemet can mean only two things: either they are afraid the Egyptian are planning to attack them. - though, it is unlikely (they didn't see any military preparation in the North) – or the Nubian army is planning an invasion on Kemet. He is not sure if he should tell Didyme what he fears; it would probably only upset her, with her father being an Egyptian, and her mother a Nubian. He might need to find another way back North, once their search for Net and Mshai is finished.

Once they are close to the capital, Gebel Barkal, he is ready to dive back into the river, but his wife has other plans.

"Can't we visit ? It's the middle of the night. Nobody will see that there is something off with us. Besides, I remember somebody telling me something about this place while I was human. Probably father. Or maybe Lotus. I didn't really think about is after I was changed and now my human memories are too dim… but still, can we at least spend a few hours there? We can always leave before the dawn.

He is not sure if it is such a great idea, but he simply nods and follows her out of the water and into the labyrinth of the streets of the Nubian capital.


	10. Wonders

10. Wonders

Coins - what a wonderful thing they are. Acquiring more is so easy; Aro just visits a few wealthy looking houses at night, whiles their owners rest. The next morning, just before sunrise, he simply gives the money to their landlord as payment for guiding service. A few minutes later, Athenodora, her brother Chrysantos and their neighbor, who has actually been to the former capital, leave the port.

Their trip takes much more time than if Aro and Cai would have traveled alone, because they cannot run without risking revealing their secret; and since an immortal's presence is enough to scare horses to death, they must walk. It's a warm, but cloudy winter day; the sun stays hidden behind the clouds. Good, there is no need to explain why their skin sparkles in the sunlight.

Their actual guide, Bion, is used to walking long distances. However, both Dora and her brother get tired very quickly and soon their journey turns nightmarish. Cai refuses to leave the siblings on the way and come back for them during their return trip, but Aro is anxious the boy will be out of the labyrinth long before they reach Knossos.

Traveling with humans changes their journey into a sight-seeing trip. Dora shows them the eagles and falcons, tries to find a cicada for almost thirty minutes, not really listening to Aro's complaints that he had seen thousands of them and that they are probably asleep or dead at this time of the year. Then her brother gets bitten by a scorpion. It takes another fifteen minutes for the rest of the group to manage to explain to him this kind isn't dangerous and he will be fine.

They reach Knossos in the middle of the night, and Aro is sure even Cai regrets taking humans with them. It is far too late to go to the palace now, which gives them only one more day and one more night to discover the mystery of the boy inside. Right now, they have to talk Bion out of helping them with the tent, so they can finish building it as fast as possible. Dora offers them some bread and meat slices; she is observant so they continue with human façade and pretend to eat. Cai is going to pay for it, once they are both done with coughing the food out of their stomachs.

Fortunately for them, their human friends are extremely tired and fall asleep very quickly. The two immortals leave them then, running quickly to the remains of the former palace. The sun begins to rise behind the clouds, though its rays cannot break through the heavy clouds. Another gloomy winter day. Good, this is exactly what they need.

The labyrinth looks like it did two days before. The can hear the boy breathing inside, and nothing else.

"Do you want to go inside now?" Cai asks.

"Yes. We have at least a few hours till the others wake up," Aro disappears into the dark passage. Nothing has changed inside except for the smell. The whole palace reeks, and none of the new scents are familiar. It reminds Aro of the smell of large predators, like lions or bears, mixed with the scent of the human. The boy is in another corridor than where he was before; he looks extremely tired and seems to be preparing himself for sleep. His clothes are gone, as is the blanket. They can smell his food still lying in the place where they had seen him last time.

This is getting really interesting. Aro cannot think of a reason why a human would wander alone in the maze, leaving all food and water. It could even be dangerous - this place is hot and airless, there is a great chance the boy will suffer from dehydration. Of course, they could help by bringing him water, but it would ruin the mystery. Instead, he makes plans to keep an eye on the boy and visit the labyrinth every hour.

"Let's go," he whispers, but Cai simply shakes his head no.

"Do you want to stay here?"

"No, but I want to visit the place we saw him last."

Finding the right corridor is more difficult than they would expect. Of course, they finally get there, using their perfect recall. They cannot follow the scent of the boy, because it disappears. It is present in the corridor where he is right now, and it still lingers in the place where he has been two days ago, but they cannot find his trail connecting both corridors. It is almost like he disappeared from one place and then suddenly reappeared in the other part of the labyrinth. The place he left looks different – like the boy was attacked; his clothes are torn to pieces, so is the blanket. The vase with wine was destroyed, the food rests are everywhere, even smeared on the walls.

"Do you think something attacked him?" Aro asks.

"I don't think so. He didn't look frightened."

"So what happened here?"

Cai simply shrugs, obviously having no answer to this.

The next few hours pass slowly. Every sixty minutes, one of them checks on the boy, but he is simply sleeping. Whatever was in the labyrinth at night, is probably gone or asleep during day time as well. At noon, Aro and Cai decide to see if their guide and the siblings are already awake, but they hadn't woken either.

Neither Didyme nor Marce had ever seen a city as big as Gebel Barkal. One side of the river seems to be a burial ground – they can see a few pyramids and graves there. The pyramids are much smaller and more pointed than those in Kemet; they are also painted with bright colors, so this place looks strangely cheerful for the large cemetery it is.

The other side of the Nile is inhabited by the living and crowded even at night. They find thirteen working temples, and it looks like there is even more of them. Each one has large painted scenes on the walls. The palaces are smaller than those they passed on their way south, but there are at least three of them. The river is crowded, full of boats - small ones which enter the city from the south, caring ebony wood, fruits and ivory, and much larger ships taking those goods to Kemet or even somewhere beyond the sea. Marce notices how a few soldiers check the cargo on one of such ships – they seem not to mind the wood and even the priceless ivory; what catches their attention are a few beautifully painted bows. It confirms his suspicions. If the Nubians are eager to confiscate even decorative weapons, that are unlikely to ever be used in a battle, than they're readying for a war. Watching this place, full of goods from distant, tropical lands and teeming with life in the middle of the night, and having in mind how lazy and sleepy Kemet looked, he has a good idea who the winner might be. Yes, they will have to find another way back to Rasenna once they finish their trip.

The air in the city smells of spices, rotten fruits and fragrance. It is very hot - there are no traces of winter here. He wonders if the weather ever changes that far south; Didyme once told him Peret and the next two winter months were slightly colder than the rest of the year in Kemet, though the temperature difference was very little in Nebit and quite large on the northern coast. It looks like the cold refuses to visit the country of Kush even in the middle of winter.

It would probably be wiser to leave such a large city as soon as they can, but his wife enjoys their sight-seeing, and he doesn't want to ruin her mood. Once, they pass scent of an immortal, but it seems to be a lonely female; the trail is more than a week old. Whoever was here, she left long before they entered the city.

"Do you want to stay here for few days? he finally asks.

"Are we allowed to?" Marce is not sure if she is simply teasing or testing his relationship with Aro.

"Yes. We are free to do whatever we want to," he smiles at her.

"I was wondering if we could travel by boat from now on. I guess there would be a greater chance someone working on one of those ships had seen a large expedition traveling south eighteen years ago."

"Can you handle being so close to humans for a long time?"

"Will there be a problem if I can't?" she winks at him.

"Not at all."

In the morning, they leave the city on one of the few bigger boats going south. It has a small canopy, which allows them to avoid direct sunlight. Marce is sure it won't be enough to fool the humans for long, but it's the only compromise between Aro's rules and the fact their only chance of finding Net and Mshai is asking people who might have seen them on their way. He doubts humans would be very talkative if they saw two sparkling creatures emerging from the river and asking questions in a foreign language. Even though Didyme's linguistic skills will probably help her to learn whatever language she needs to in just a few days.

Traveling by boat is slower and much more boring than swimming, but it allows them to play a game trying to recognize different animal species they pass by only the sound of their heartbeats, before they become visible.

"Hippo!" Didyme laughs, pointing at the shadow moving underwater. "You know, hippos are very dangerous. They probably kill much more people than both crocodiles and lions."

He nods, already concentrating on the sound of a few hearts he can hear behind a meander. Whatever creatures are there, they belong to one species, they are slightly shorter than humans and walk on four legs, though he can hear one heart slightly higher than the others, like one of them was standing erect.

"Baboons!" Didyme guesses immediately. "Oh, baboons are great! They often visit humans and steal all their food. If you try to protect something, they can even maul you! I always loved when the baboons visited Nebit!" she explains happily.

"Listen, there is a buffalo on the shore," she shouts after a few minutes. "Buffalos often attack without any cause, and they chase people and stab them with their horns till their victim is dead. They are even known to destroy trees and houses!"

Marce fails to see what is so wonderful in being bitten by a hippo, mauled by a baboon or stabbed by a buffalo, but as long as Didyme has fun, he is satisfied. At night, she shows him a few wildcats, which came to drink water from the river. Of course, the wonderful thing about them is there is no way to outrun them or hide from them - if you are a human. So, if they choose you for dinner, you get eaten.

And speaking of food, he decides they will have to get rid of the captain and the two crew members traveling with them on the boat. Didyme doesn't bother to stay under the canopy in the daylight, and those few must have noticed their passengers don't sleep or feed like other humans.

The landscape doesn't really change much during the first ten days. Sure, they know they are in the middle of the desert, but both shores of the river are green, full of trees and flowers.

They turn right on the river forks, just like Net and Mshai; after a few days the desert ends, and the travelers enter the jungle. Both immortals are more active now; at nights, when the whole crew is asleep, they leave the boat and enter villages close to shore to ask the locals about an expedition that took that way exactly eighteen years ago. The people they meet are in general nice and trying to be helpful, but the fact that they all speak different dialects - even Didyme has problems with learning a language during one night - and that the tribes rarely keep track of a timeline makes learning something from them almost impossible.

Once they get deeper into the jungle, the crew starts trading, and the two immortals decide it is time to leave them and travel farther alone. They are both quite thirsty, and soon a small ghost ship starts its journey back up the Nile, carrying the drained captain, the crew and one unfortunate witness, who visited hoping to make the biggest trade in his life. Didyme doubts it will sink; it has a big chance of reaching Kush and starting a legend about the dangers of the jungle. She chuckles happily, licks the blood off her lips and follows Marce into the rain forest.

Now that they have more time in each village, Marce and Didyme start actually learning things about Mshai's expedition. Rumors say eleven out of fourteen people who left Kemet, entered the jungle, and the young master and his wife were unharmed and well. One of the servants was attacked and killed by a leopard, but the rest of the group continued their journey South and stopped in a village close to the waterfall for more supplies and to decide where to go next. The couple decide to stay close to the shore, not wanting to miss the cascade.

The waterfall is almost impossible to miss. It is not a particularly large one, but it is definitely the loudest. It looks like the whole majestic river squeezed through a narrow gorge, no wider than seven meters, before plunging almost fifty meters below. The view from below is not very spectacular, only the roaring sound is a hint of how powerful the Nile really is and the force of the water it carries. Didyme even jumps up, to see if she would be able to stand on the upper ledge. The water feels nice, slightly colder and somehow cleaner than up the river, but the current is too strong even for an immortal. She falls and dives in the water below.

"You should try it!" she shouts, back on the surface.

"Maybe later. Lets look for the village first."

Didyme nods, closes her eyes and concentrated on the sounds other than the roar of the waterfall. She can hear some fruits falling on the ground, a few heartbeats, the sound of somebody climbing a tree with great agility. Whoever it is, it is smaller than a regular human; either a kid, an ape or a large monkey. She can hear the creature letting the branch loose and jumping to the ground. It lands on four feet, stands up to eat a fruit and moves further, close to the ground. A baboon, not a human.

On further she can hear a small stream meandering through the jungle. The sound of this water is completely different than the thundering cascade nearby. The stream sounds lazy as it flows, trying to find its way to the bigger river. She can sense a few small mammals drinking from it, but suddenly they leave, as if something scared them off. Something approaches the stream moving on two feet - either a big and agitated baboon, a chimpanzee or a human. The creature puts something into the water; the thing is large enough to be a bucket. Animals don't use tools. Whoever is by the stream is human. She looks at her husband, just to see he has noticed exactly the same thing.

"He will lead us to the village," Marce whispers, even though there is no chance a normal man could hear them from such a distance.

They follow him for at least twenty minutes. Soon, they are both able to smell humans.

"How do we approach them?" Didyme asks, when it is obvious the village is not far away.

"It is too far from the river to pretend we were following it and heard the people. We will simply approach them and ask about your sister's expedition. Do you understand them?"

She nods. "It's the same language I've heard in the last two towns. Let's go."

After a few more seconds they enter the clearing and see the whole village. It is small, only sixteen tiny, round houses made of bent hay. Each one of them has a pointed top. Other than that, this area looks like dozens other small towns they have visited. Children run around the houses, completely ignoring the overwhelming heat; some adults snore inside their homes, others sit outside and constantly chase the trees' shadow that refuse to linger in the same place for longer than a few minutes. The undead arrived just after the noon. It must be time when people here rest.

One of the children spots them, still standing and watching the humans from the jungle, and shouts for his father to wake up. Marce and his wife approach them moving with speed that would be slow even for humans. A tiny girl playing with a wooden elephant raises her head and smiles at Didyme. The immortal grins back, concentrating on her aura.

Suddenly, an elder woman walks out of the biggest house in the middle of the village. For a moment, she watches the newcomers with quizzical look, searching for some kind of a weapon. She finds none, but it doesn't seem to make her feel more relaxed. She whispers to one of the men to search the forest for more people. Then, when she is sure her visitors are not a threat to her people, she starts paying more attention to their features. Marce's face holds no interest to her, but she keeps staring at Didyme.

"How old are you?" she asks finally.

"Fifteen?" The girl is too surprised to make it sound like a statement. "Why?"

Her answer startles the woman, who seems not to be sure if she is being lied to or simply mistaken. Didyme can see her counting something fast on her fingers. Ten fingers, then ten fingers again, and one thumb. Twenty one! She freezes, and after a few seconds exhales, and nods gently.

"What are you doing here?"

This question sends Didyme on a territory she feels much safer on.

"We are following my sister's expedition. She and her husband traveled this way eighteen years ago…"

"…trying to the find the source of the great river," the woman smiles finally. "Your sister's name is Net, but you don't look much like she did because you have different mothers."

"Yes." Didyme can't help but wonder why her sister decided to tell these people the whole family story of Nebit.

"You have never met me, but I'm glad you finally found your way home, granddaughter!"


End file.
